


HBBIC (Head Bitches & Bastard In Charge)

by BooksRBetterThanPeople



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #LetChloeCommitArson2020, Aww, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Badass Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Bustier salt, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Class redemption, Damocles salt, HBIC Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Heathers References, Jewish Mafia, Jewish Nathaniel Kurtzberg, LetChloeCommitArson2021, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila almost dies, Mendelieve is best teacher, Not everyone is an idiot, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, almost?, class salt, hbic au, lila gets exposed, switchblades
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:27:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksRBetterThanPeople/pseuds/BooksRBetterThanPeople
Summary: Lila thinks she's the Queen of Francoise-Dupont. She took all of Marinette's friends, had the teachers wrapped around her finger. But while she was busy running a little kingdom, Marinette was running a f*cking empire, and she wasn't alone. The Primaries are back.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 256
Kudos: 1229
Collections: MarcNath Fics!, oc self insertSI





	1. Red Prince❤️

Nathaniel knew his classmates weren't exactly... The brightest. They would often jump to conclusions, take down the first person that even looked at them funny. But this? This was just fucked up. They turned against the sweetest girl in class- Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl they've known since diapers. Even her own best friend and her crush took the side of that... That liar! Rossi came to their class with "astounding stories" about her many travels, charity work, connections, and they all bought it while leaving Marinette behind. Literally, they made her sit in the back of the class just so Lila could sit upfront due to her "tinnitus". They switched back, thank God, after Lie-la told everyone how her good friend Ladybug fixed her hearing... Pathetic.

Nathaniel knew a liar when he saw one. He always managed to find holes and massive red flags. And Lila’s had many, many flags. First off, Jagged Stone never owned a cat, he’s highly allergic. Prince Ali doesn’t do Go Green charities, Rose should know this since she has his number, and Clara Nightingale’s moves were all thought of by her, no one else. As long as none of her lies affected him, Nathaniel didn’t care. He’d just let everyone figure it out on their own like Marinette and Chloé. They weren’t idiots, they could smell an attention grabber from miles away.

Marinette tried to point out Lila’s lies, but she somehow turned it around and made it look like Marinette was bullying her, and everyone fell for it!

Then everything turned calm for a while. Lila wasn't making Marinette look like the bad guy, just making her classmates do stuff for her by taking advantage of their ~~weakness~~ kindness. It was sad, honestly, watching those poor, mindless sheep being tricked by a fox with horrible hair that Nathaniel was forced to look at every day. They bought her lunch, carried her belongings, listened to her lies. This is why Nathaniel doesn't sit with them at lunch anymore. But they don't need to know that. 

But then tragedy struck. Marinette got expelled. He couldn’t believe it, he really couldn’t. Marinette would never cheat, push someone down the stairs, or steal. Nathaniel tried to point this out, but of course, no one listened to him. Not when he pointed out how Lila didn’t have any scratches on her after “falling down the stairs”, the lockers didn’t have any locks so anyone could easily break in and frame someone for theft.

For some demented reason, the school won't allow students to bring locks from home, a policy that many of the teachers tried to get removed. Mme. Bustier, who was all for "students trusting each other" or some shit fought to keep the policy in place, and Damocles sided with her. And Nathaniel's always wondered why the school never bought any security cameras. They obviously had the money for it due to one of the student's being the mayor's daughter, but after he saw the modifications Damocles made to his office, that mystery was solved.

Everyone was too dense to fact check everything, and Nathaniel watched as Marinette did the walk of shame out of the locker room. When she went to open the door, about fifty red Akumas flew in and possessed Bustier, Damocles, Juleka, Rose, the Dupain-Chengs... And Marinette. Nathaniel managed to hide and go unnoticed by the Akumas. Marinette and her mother had red Akuma symbols around their faces, Chloe was protecting Sabrina, and Lila just stood there smirking like she was happy this was happening. He knew Lila was trouble, but there was no way she planned this... Right?

No. That was just ridiculous... She just enjoys discord, and causing it apparently. Lila must’ve realized that Nathaniel wasn’t like the others and tried to do to him what she did to Marinette. A few weeks ago, Nathaniel was accused of stealing Lila’s artwork even though the girl can’t draw a simple stick figure. The class decided to get back at him by tearing up his beloved sketchbook. If Nathaniel had Chat’s ring, he would Cataclysm the hell out of each and every one of them. He was able to prove his innocence thanks to Marc comparing the art style in the book to one of his earlier works, but the damage was done, and what really pissed him off was that none of his classmates believed that him, the artist of the class who hated thieves wouldn’t steal another person’s work.

And what hurt was that Alix, Juleka, or Rose didn’t try to defend him. They just believed the words of a girl they’ve only known for a month over someone they’ve known for years! And even after Lila was proven guilty, everyone forgave her because of something about a bump to the head that messes up her memory sometimes, then Mme. Bustier reprimanded him for getting mad that his hard work was destroyed! HIS hard work that earned him and Marc money! He just wanted to stran-

“Nath!”

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Alix. The two were walking home from school together, and he had just zoned out, still thinking about the expulsion incident that happened weeks ago and those idiots seem to have forgotten. Marinette was able to come back for reasons he’ll never know, and now for some insane reason, Lie-la was modeling for Gabriel Agreste? What the hell is going on?

”S-sorry, just thinking about something.”

”Is it about Marinette getting expelled?”

’How is it that she always knows what I’m thinking?’ he thought to himself. “Yeah, actually. It’s just-“

”There’s no way Marinette would do that, right? But the answer sheet was in her locker, Lila was lying at the bottom of the stairs, and the necklace was in her locker. But she _does_ have kind of a one-tracked mine when it comes to Adrien.”

Nathaniel stopped walking and gave the skater and incredulous loo, “Alix... You don’t really think she did it, did you?”

”What? No way!” She said defensively. “I’m just saying, Marinette can get a little jealous-“

”Alix, I don’t think she’s jealous of Lila,” he stated. “Are you forgetting that Marinette went on a double date with Kagami and Adrien with Luka? She put her feelings aside so he could be happy.”

”Well... Yeah, but-“

He continued, ”And we both know that Marinette is one of the best students in class, so she wouldn’t need to cheat. She’s also a little clumsy. If she did push Lila down the stairs, she would’ve fallen too. And the necklace was found in her locker, a locker that don’t have a lock just like the rest. Need I go on?” He narrowed his eyes in a way that had Alix taking a few steps back out of fear of what her friend might do.

”Geez, Nath. Your Primary side’s showin’ a bit.”

He tensed at the mention of that word, before self consciously tugging on his bangs and looking down at the ground, “Oh, so I’m suddenly... _That_ for defending one of our friends?”

”It’s not a _bad_ thing, you guys helped the school a lot. But Lila’s not like those other people. She’s nice, she’s one of our friends.”

”...”

”Do you not like her or something?” She asked in an accusing tone.

”Well...”, Nathaniel tried to come up with a reason, but that would involve saying he did like Lila. That girl has been nothing but a pain in the ass since day one. Not only has she claimed that he stole her work, but expressed loudly and many times that she could hook him up with a “professional writer,” and of course, that set him off. When he tried to explain why to his angry classmates, they took Lila’s side. HER SIDE. Not his or Marc’s.

”Nath,” He frowned at the nickname. He didn’t like that Alix was saying it; it felt wrong. “what are you saying?”

“I don’t trust Lila, okay!” He exclaimed angrily, “Can you blame me? She tried to frame me for art theft, said she could hook me up with a writer other that Marc, and you guys tore up my sketchbook!” Before Alix could retort, he continued, “And yes, I think she framed Marinette to deliberately get her expelled! I tried to say something, but no one would listen! I saw her smirking when the Akumas flew into the locker room! So, forgive me for believing Marinette over her, Kudbel. Know what? That doesn’t really express how I fell, lemme start over.”

He stormed over to the frozen in place girl and looked at her right in the eyes, “Lila Rossi is a phsycho bitch. And I will be laughing for eternity the day you and the others realize your little _princess_ is actually a backstabbing liar!” An uncomfortable silence sat between the two best friends. Could they even call themselves best friends anymore! Then, Alix took a step away from Nathaniel, frowned and said,

”Fine. If you wanna side with her. Go on ahead.” Then she walked away, leaving Nathaniel alone in the middle of the sidewalk. He sighed and continued walking home.

* * *

When he got to his room, Nathaniel threw his messenger bag to the floor in anger. He could not believe her! Alix knows how important his sketchbook is to him, and how much he loves having Marc as his comic partner, but she didn’t come to his defense! Not her, Rose, Juleka!

”I’M IN A CLASSROOM FULL OF IDIOTS!” He screamed at no one, just needing to blow off some steam. He could draw in his sketchbook. But then Nathaniel looked over at the shredded pages on his desk and scowled. That’s not an option anymore. And above his desk were photos of him, Marc, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Marinette. God, is this what she’s feeling right now; like no one is in her corner? Three of those girls were mocking him. Wasting no time, he tore down the photos of Alix, Juleka, and Rose, and threw them into the trash.

That felt satisfying. After taking a few breaths to calm himself down, Nathaniel made his way over to his bed, kneeled, reached under, and pulled out a red shoebox. When he opened it, there inside was a black lapel pin in the shape of a crown with red, yellow, and blue jewels, a red journal with a gold cursive ‘N’ on the cover with pages filled with names and what looked like offenses written next to those names- ‘Stealing money from school, beating up LGBT students, sexual harassment.’ And finally, a photo of him, Marinette, and Chloé at twelve years old wearing red, blue, and yellow blazers respectively. This was back before Adrien, Alya, and _she_ joined their class. Back when they ruled that God forsaken school...

Alix was wrong. He wasn’t like that anymore, none of them were. He was just a normal student who sat in the back of every class, didn’t say anything, and doesn’t get involved with stuff like this. Although, it would be a thrill to make some lives miserable and watch them burn, he couldn’t just go at it. She decided when the time was right.

Pulling Nathaniel out of his thoughts and breaking the silence was a very familiar sounding text tone.

’... No way.’

He got up and walked over towards his bag. He pulled out his phone and read the message on the screen, eyes widening with alarm as he did.

 **The Primaries** ❤️💛💙

**Marinette:**   
**We’re making a comeback. Rossi has gone too far this time.**

**[image]**

Nathaniel nearly dropped his phone out of shock when she sent the picture of her sketchbook torn to shreds. He couldn’t see Marinette’s expression right now, but he was sure it was worse than staring death right in the face. Rossi is so dead.

**Marinette:  
I found it in my locker with a note. ‘Give up. You’re nothing. I have the entire class on my side.’ I recognized her hand writing. And I was supposed to show the designs to Jagged next week.**

That’s right, Jagged Stone was going to an award show and commissioned for Marinette to design a ‘totally rock ‘n roll’ look for him. She was able to tell her classmates first before Lila could take the credit, but of course, that sausage-haired brat had to make it all about her, saying she asked Jagged to ask Marinette or some bull-crap like that, and everyone told Lila how nice she was and that Marinette should be thanking her, hoping to make the two enemies friends.

 **Marinette:  
** **I went to Alya about this, she didn’t believe me and told me I was just doing this to make everyone hate Lila, and she called me a jealous bitch. That girl needs to go NOW**

**Chloé:**   
**Say no more, Mari. I’ve been dying to knock her down a few pegs ever since she stole Sabrina from me.**

**Chloé:**   
**Kurtzberg, I know you’re reading this. You in or what?**

Nathaniel couldn’t believe this was happening. Were they really going to do this again?... It was a thrill, and if it meant getting rid of Lila once and for all and teaching those idiots a lesson, so be it. He typed,

**Nathaniel:**   
**I’m in. She tried to frame me for stealing her art. Bitch can’t even draw a stick figure.**

**Marinette:  
I’ll make sure Aurore and Mireille spread the news around school. The Primaries are back and out for blood.**

**Marinette:  
💙**

**Chloé:  
💛**

**Nathaniel:  
❤️  
  
**He had some calls to make later. Hopefully no one loses a finger this time. **  
**


	2. Yellow Queen💛

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe chapter

Chloé Bourgeois is the living definition of a Mythic Bitch. She knows this. She's the mayor's daughter, so with that comes being the bitchiest person in the entire school. She ruled over that place with an iron fist. She knew she wasn't well-liked by anyone, but she didn't care. As long as she had power over these people, she didn't care who liked her... Till now.

Lila. Fucking. Rossi. She waltzed right into HER school, with the fakest stories Chloé has ever heard. Honestly, her best friend is Ladybug? Chloé knows she isn't friends with the superhero, and she probably never will be. But if she was, she wouldn't go around bragging about it while there was a magical terrorist going around doing anything to get his hands on magical jewelry he'll probably use to take over Paris and turn everyone into his mindless drones. But, that won't happen because Lie-la and Ladybug aren't friends, so if Hawkmoth kidnapped her, he'd get nothing out of that horribly dressed, sausage-haired girl. She could lie and say Ladybug is someone else, but that would just cause more problems.

So, Chloé decided to let her have her fifteen minutes of fame. Let the lies fly over people's heads for a little bit, let Rossi be a little Disney princess... Fifteen minutes became fifteen days. People still couldn't see that this girl was a chronic liar, and was taking advantage of them. Chloé knew people like her, her father was a politician and her mother ran the fashion world.

Lila was one of those people who would use sweet words and promises to get people to trust them, let them into the inner circle, observe, learn weaknesses. Well, the class' weakness was their kindness and over-protectiveness. If one person even said that Lila was lying, she would burst out into the fakest tears Chloé has ever seen. And Chloé knows fake tears. Her mom made her compete in a beauty pageant- which she got second place in- and the girl who won cried some of the biggest, fakest tears of joy the world has ever seen. She saw her pinching her wrist until the skin turned red. Once Lila got the tears flooding, the class would turn into guard dogs. They would glare, yell, and call people jealous or a bully. Pathetic. Utterly. Pathetic.

But, Rossi being in their class had some benefits. The class showed their true colors to everyone. They didn't know it, but they becoming less and less popular, with the exception of Marinette, Nathaniel, and somewhat herself. Chloé was still a mega bitch to everyone, but at least she wasn't called 'gullible' or 'quick to accusations'. She heard it everywhere she went. 'God, they actually still believe her?', 'Her stories were okay at first, but come on! Having tea with the Queen?', 'At least those three have brain cells.' Sure, some of them were a little mean, but they weren't wrong.

She’d rather be an outcast in a small classroom than being forced to change schools because no one likes her. Rossi's been here for months telling outlandish stories, making false promises, and they ate it all up. If Chloe didn't know any better, she'd think they were only hanging around Lila because of her many, many "connections." If that's true, why'd they stop hanging out with ~~Marinette~~ Dupain-Cheng?

That girl was gonna go far. Unlike Rossi, she actually has connections with many influential people. She has all those connections, and she hasn't used them to call Lie-la out on her bullshit. That's just how noble she was, something Chloe really admired. She never used them to brag or get what she wanted, Dupain-Cheng got what she wanted through hard work... Now if only she'd charge people for her clothes. People do pay... People who aren't her classmates. The bluenette really needed to grow a spine again if she wanted those idiots to stop walking all over her, demanding free stuff that she could sell for hundreds, calling her jealous, a bully for calling out Lila, moving her to the back after she fought for that seat.

Chloé didn’t think they could get anymore dumb, but when Lila somehow got Marinette expelled for cheating, assault, and stealing, and they believed it, Chloé just wanted to go home and take a LONG bath. What’s worse wasn’t even the fact that Damocles expelled Marinette without any sort of evidence, how Heroes Day part 2 almost happened, or how Marimette was almost akumatized. No, the worst part is that not even Alya or Adrien stood up for her. The “investigative journalist”, and the Sunshine Boy who actually knew Rossi was lying!

Yeah, Chloé heard their conversation. Adrien telling her to take the high road and don’t call her out, or some shit like that. She loved Adrien, but sometimes that boy needed to stop watching Disney movies and face the bitter truth: Some people don’t change, and people need to take action when they’re being bullied by a lying, manipulative she-demon with awful hair, and terrible tast in fashion! She just wants to shake some sense into him and everyone else, and- Why is Beautiful playing?

Chloé ended her little mental rant and was mid bite in eating her fancy Swedish chocolate. The iconic Heathers entrance music was playing from her phone. She dug through her purse until she found the gold phone with the very expensive case and checked her messages. To her shock and disbelief, there it was. Chloé couldn’t help but smirk at the group chat that had finally risen from the dead.

 **The Primaries** ❤️💛💙

**Marinette:**   
**We’re making a comeback. Rossi has gone too far this time.**

**[image]**

Chloé choked on the chocolate and rubbed her eyes, not believing this is real, but it is. That was definitely Marinette’s sketchbook torn to shreds. If Rossi had done that, may God have mercy on her soul.

**Marinette:  
I found it in my locker with a note. ‘Give up. You’re nothing. I have the entire class on my side.’ I recognized her hand writing. And I was supposed to show the designs to Jagged next week.  
**

**Marinette:  
** **I went to Alya about this, she didn’t believe me and told me I was just doing this to make everyone hate Lila, and she called me a jealous bitch. That girl needs to go NOW**

Oh, was definitely in. She was ready to have the respect of the people back, ready to stop acting horribly to her best friends, ready to put that class in their place, and ready to get rid of Rossi once and for all.

**Chloé:**   
**Say no more, Mari. I’ve been dying to knock her down a few pegs ever since she stole Sabrina from me.**

Yes, her not-so-loyal bestie. Lila convinced Sabrina to secede from Chloé’s side, which she didn’t mind at first. Sabrina needed a mind of her own and to not follow someone around. It was great until Sabrina started ignoring her. Whenever Chloé asked if she wanted to come over instead of demanding for her to, she would just outright say no and talk about her much better friends.

Well, she can burn with them in hell.

Now what about Nathaniel? Would he be on board with this? Well, he couldn’t back out of this. It was happening whether he liked it or not.

**Chloé:**   
**Kurtzberg, I know you’re reading this. You in or what?**

She saw the text bubbles...

**Nathaniel:**   
**I’m in. She tried to frame me for stealing her art. Bitch can’t even draw a stick figure.**

They had the group back together. A politician’s daughter, the son of a dangerous and powerful family, and a girl who could ruin a reputation with just her phone.

**Marinette:  
I’ll make sure Aurore and Mireille spread the news around school. The Primaries are back and out for blood.**

**Marinette:  
💙**

**Chloé:  
💛**

**Nathaniel:  
❤️  
  
**With a wicked smirk, Chloé got up and made her way over to her closet where reached deep into the back. Amongst her designer clothes and sequined shoes was a yellow shoebox that stood out from the black, white, and royal blue ones. She pulled it out, brushed away the dust, and opened it to reveal a black lapel pin that looked like a crown with red, yellow, and blue jewels, a yellow scrunchie, a yellow camera, photos of students at school committing acts such as pushing people down the stairs, choking others, and stealing stuff out of lockers. Then, she pulled out a photo of her, Marinette, and Nathaniel from a few years ago in their signature color-coded blazers and smiled tenderly at it. It felt good to be back.


	3. Blue Empress💙

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette’s POV

This. Was the final straw.

When Tom and Sabine saw Marinette storming into the bakery with her commissions sketchbook torn to shreds, they knew better than to disturb her. Once when she was seven, a fifth-grader spilled juice on her little pink sketchbook. The boy was sent to the hospital. She takes her designs _very_ seriously and doesn't take too kindly to people destroying her hard work. They did wondered though, who would be so stupid that they destroyed their daughter's prized possession? Well, may God have mercy on their soul, and the souls of anyone who was in on it. Hell hath no fury like their daughter scorned.

* * *

Marinette slammed her trap-door shut with so much strength that Tikki swore she saw some stuff around her chosen's bedroom move from the vibrations, "Marinette? I know you're upset, but-" Marinette throwing her sketchbook at a wall with so much force that caused a crack to form shut her up.

"Tikki..." Her voice ran a chill down Tikki's back. She's never heard her sound so cold before. "I am beyond upset. I am pissed. And I dare Hawkmoth to send an Akuma after me. If he does, I will burn down this city with him still in it,” she snarled with such an alarming amount of venom in her voice.

Tikki was mad, too, but not like Marinette. She’s seen some wicked people over the millennia, but in her opinion, that class could rot in the underworld. They took advantage of a sweet, innocent girl for who knows how long and tossed her to the side when something better came along- Someone who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her bug!

After taking a few breaths to calm herself down and not give Hawkmoth bait, Marinette dug into her purse and pulled out her phone. "But I think I'll start small with Dupont," she whispered, sending another chill down Tikki's back. Marinette scrolled through her text messages, scowling at the ones from her frie- classmates who haven't texted her in months ever since Lila returned. And when they did text her, it was to demand things, berate her for something she didn’t do, or to call her a bitch. Finally, the messages ended and at the very bottom was a group chat from almost a year ago.

 **The Primaries** ❤️💛💙

**Marinette:**   
**We’re making a comeback. Rossi has gone too far this time.**

**[image]**

**Marinette:  
I found it in my locker with a note. ‘Give up. You’re nothing. I have the entire class on my side.’ I recognized her hand writing. And I was supposed to show the designs to Jagged next week.**

**Marinette:  
** **I went to Alya about this, she didn’t believe me and told me I was just doing this to make everyone hate Lila, and she called me a jealous bitch. That girl needs to go NOW**

**Chloé:**   
**Say no more, Mari. I’ve been dying to knock her down a few pegs ever since she stole Sabrina from me.**

The Primaries’ intimidator. She knows everyone's weak points and will not hesitate to use those against them. 

**Chloé:**   
**Kurtzberg, I know you’re reading this. You in or what?**

The group’s Gretchen Weiners, their Jenna Rolan. He knows everything that’s going on around school. That’s just one of the perks of being able to go unnoticed.

**Nathaniel:**   
**I’m in. She tried to frame me for stealing her art. Bitch can’t even draw a stick figure.**

They were in.

**Marinette:  
I’ll make sure Aurore and Mireille spread the news around school. The Primaries are back and out for blood.**

**Marinette:  
💙**

**Chloé:  
💛**

**Nathaniel:  
❤️  
  
  
**Marinette turned off her phone with a sinister, very out-of-character smirk. Tikki flew over to her chosen and asked with concern, “Marinette, what’s going on? Who are the Primaries?”

The Eurasian girl’s smile softened when she faced the tiny goddess, “I’ll show you.” She walks over to her desk and stops in front of the small pink box with a set of doors sitting on top. She opens both. On the left side of the box are three drawers, the right is hollow and has a small blue box sitting inside.

Tikki watches with confusion as she pulls out the mysterious blue box and opens it. Her confusion turned to shock when she sees a photo of her and Chloé. Hugging and smiling. “You and Chloé used to be friends?!”

Marinette giggled and pulled out the photo, “We still are.”

Tikki's jaw hung open for a moment, obviously trying to process this. “B-but if you’re still friends, then why-“

”It was all an act.” Marinette said, “To lull people into sort of a false sense of security.”

”But she ruined your gift!” Tikki exclaimed

”And revealed Mme. Bustier’s little philosophy along with her victim-blaming. Her ‘bullying’ actually uncovered some things about the school we never thought to look into.” Marinette pulls out another photo, one of her, Chloé, and Nathaniel wearing blue, yellow, and red blazers with bejeweled black crown lapel pins on their blazer collars. “Not only that but showed the true colors of our classmates. No one came to my defense. Remember Chloé’s party?” Tikki nodded, “Yeah, Alya pressured me into going, with the idea that Chloé and I are bitter rivals, never able to become friends.”

Tikki took a look at the photo and recognized Nathaniel, ”You were friends with Nathaniel, too?”

Marinette nodded, ”And we still are. We just don’t talk as much around people.”

Tikki frowned, still very confused, “Can you just explain everything?”

”Sure. Before Alya, Adrien, and... _Lila_ joined the class, Chloé, Nathaniel, and I pretty much ran the school. Students feared us, admired us, but we didn’t care about popularity,” she explained. “We used our connections to take down the bullies at school and get rid of some... Unsavory teachers.”

The tiny goddess nodded, seeming to get a clearer picture of everything, then asked, "I know you and Chloe are pretty well-connected, but Nathaniel?" Marinette nodded. _‘Don’t judge a book by its cover they say.’_ “Okay, so, what happened? Why did the Primaries disband?”

”Well,” Marinette pulled a crown-shaped lapel pin adorned with red, yellow, and blue jewels out of the box and ran her finger over the smooth accessory, “everyone soon realized that if they become a bully, they’d have to deal with us. And no one wanted that, so it all just stopped. Teachers with shady pasts didn’t apply for a job, and students with records went to find other schools, so there was no reason for us to be the Primaries anymore. Everyone treated us like regular, non-threatening students.”

”But now that Lila’s here...”

Marinette finished, “The Primaries are back. We’re gonna take out Lila, Bustier, Damocles, and make sure the class learns a little lesson about messing with the wrong people. After everything that’s happened, they just magically forget when Lila comes along and accuses _me_ of being a bully.”

Tikki frowned at the memory. How dare those people who call themselves Marinette's friends take advantage of her chosen, demand things without giving anything in return, expect her to be an example, and then have the nerve to accuse her of being a bully fueled by nothing but jealousy? She was a benevolent goddess but when someone hurt her friends and family, Tikki was ready to make fire rain down on the wretched. Whatever Marinette had planned, she was in.

Marinette reached for her phone again and texted Aurore and Mireille

**Aurore & Mireille**

**Marinette:  
I need the two of you to make an announcement for the entire school.**

**Marinette:  
** **The Primaries are back**

**Mireille:  
😨 Really?**

**Aurore:  
About time, your majesty 😏**

**Aurore:  
Lemme guess. Lie-la?**

**Marinette:  
Her, my class, Bustier, and Damocles. I’ve been plotting our comeback since I was expelled**

**Aurore:  
Unleash hell on those idiots and make them bed for forgiveness!**

**Aurore:  
*bed**

**Aurore:  
*beg **

**Mireille:  
I’m mad for you too. But please don’t go too far this time. Some students still talk about the... Incident last year.**

**Marinette:  
I make no promises, and I don’t know who may or may not get hurt. But I can guarantee that Tammy and Kyle won’t be coming back**

**Aurore:  
I’ll announce it on the school blog.**

**Mireille:  
I’ll send out a mass text**

“Do I wanna know what happened last year?” Tikki asked, a little nervous to find out what Marinette’s answer may be.

”I don’t think you do.” She walks over to her pink floral-print chest and unclasps the latches. She then tosses the many commissions she's worked so hard on and slaved over for her classmates without pay, onto the floor, making a mental note to sell them. She finds a little pink piece of silk ribbon wedged right between the bottom and the side of the chest. Gripping onto the ribbon with her thumb and forefinger, Marinette pulled on it, which also lifted up the bottom of the trunk revealing a hollowed-out space underneath. Marinette smiled at the sight of the blue blazer folded so neatly. Wearing that made her feel like Ladybug without the earrings like she had all the confidence in the world... And tomorrow, Rossi’s little world is going to burn.

'Buzz.'

Marinette looked back at her phone. The poor piece of technology looked like it was going to break in her vice grip when the texts came in.

**Alya:  
** **We can't be friends anymore if you're going to keep acting like this.**

**Nino:  
Sorry, dude. It's over.**

**Mylene:  
Maybe if you weren't so mean to Lila, we'd still be friends.**

**Juleka:  
I don't even know you anymore.**

**Alix:  
YOU AND NATHANIEL CAN SUCK IT!**

**Kim:  
I actually thought you were nice.**

It just went on like that. Text after text, telling her that this "friendship" is over. No. _They don't tell her when it's over. She does._ The only person in Rossi's court who didn't text her was Adrien... She'd deal with him later. Feeling spiteful, Marinette sent each one of them the middle finger emoji before blocking their numbers, but it wasn't enough. She needed to do something crazy to really sever their ties. Something like... Like...

She heard a throat clearing sound and turned around to see Tikki pointing up at the photos of her classmates and their schedules on the wall by her bed. She scowled at their taunting faces until Tikki picked up a pair of pink scissors and said, "It'll make you feel better." With a gleeful smile that not even her “friends” could cause, Marinette took the scissors, made her way up to her bed, and tore down each of the pictures. They were all just cruel reminders of the fantasy world that she was living in. One where people didn't throw her away when the newest thing came along, where people came to her defense, didn't let her suffer alone, were actually smart enough to ask themselves, 'Does this sound like something Marinette would do?' Every photo, every schedule, it was all gone and cut into bits, save a few. The ones she kept were of Chloé, Nathaniel, Luka, Kagami, and some students that weren't in her class.

Tomorrow, Rossi won't know what hit her.


	4. Return of the Primaries

When the Akuma class woke up this morning, they each felt a chill run down their backs. No matter how hard they tried to shrug it off, the feeling lingered and they were on their toes as they got ready for school. It was almost as if someone had killed off all the joy and light in the world and in its place was only rage and eternal darkness.

Alya walked into the school, still a little paranoid, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. Students and teachers alike seemed to be on the lookout for something. _'What is going on?'_ She wondered to herself. Maybe there was an Akuma, a dangerous one. Why else would everyone be acting like this? She sat down on one of the courtyard benches and pulled out her phone to see if there was anything on the news. Nothing. Maybe the others would know. She scrolled through her text messages until she found one that made her frown. The middle finger emoji Marinette sent her yesterday before blocking her number. Honestly, this girl was acting like a child. She and everyone else gave her so many chances to accept Lila, but no! She just has to have Adrien all to herself and call Lila a liar for no reason.

"Hey, bestie!" Alya jumped at the sound of the Italian's upbeat but also startling voice. She breathed a breath of relief and gave the girl a wave, "He-hey, Lila." Lila gave a look of concern, "Oh, Alya, what's wrong?" That's what Alya loved about Lila, she was always so concerned for the feelings of others, so selfless... Like Marinette used to be. A small part of her hoped she was having a day like her's, but another part hoped that she was okay. Even if they weren't friends right now, no one should feel like there was an asteroid hurtling towards the earth that can kill all of humanity. "Yeah, I'm just a little on edge today. I can't really explain it, it's like... I just feel like something's going to happen."

Lila gave a small gasp and wrapped her arm around the Creole girl, "Don't worry! I'm sure it's nothing too bad!" Alya smiled at her friend's attempt to make her feel better. She was still a little nervous about today, but at least she had Lila by her side, "Thanks, girl." Lila gave a pleasant smile and the two made their way to the locker room.

As they walked, Alya tried to clear her head of any bad thoughts. She didn't know if Hawkmoth akumatized people who were feeling anxious, but he _did_ Akumatize a boy who had a nightmare, so she tried to keep her anxiety on the down-low. Hopefully, others could do the same. Although, the more she looked around, the more she started to notice that not everyone was uneasy today, like Aurore and Mireille, her rivals in journalism. They kept their heads high and continued on normally. Then there was Marc, the poor boy. He was cousins with her best friend's bully and the boyfriend of her accomplice. How Marinette could drag Nathaniel down with her is something Alya would never understand. He still couldn't be mad about the sketchbook, he can always re-draw what was in there. It's not the end of the world.

All of Mme. Mendelieve's class looked relaxed and like nothing was wrong. Even all of the teachers looked relaxed, almost relieved, smug even, so what was going on with everyone else? When they got closer to the locker room, that's when Alya began hearing the students whisper.

'I can't believe they're back.'

'Who do you think they're gonna take down this time?'

'I hope Tammy doesn't come back.'

'How much you wanna bet they're going after Damocles?'

'It's about time. Then maybe the Akuma cla-'

'Shh! There's two of them right there.'

'They had this coming ever since she was expelled.'

’I heard that bitch tore up her sketchbook.’

Alya furrowed her brow. 'Expelled?' ‘Sketchbook’. They couldn't be talking about Marinette, right? No, that can't be. Why would she go after M. Damocles and her own classmates? They were... They were still close, not friends, but she wouldn't do anything to hurt them. The only person she really has it out for is Lila, which she and the others will never understand. Besides, what have they done to make Marinette mad at them? She’s always happy and upbeat, she can get over anything.

Rousing Alya out of her thoughts was Rose. She ran up to her and Lila, panting, frantic. "Alya, Lila! Follow me!"

Both girls blinked, "What's wrong, Rose?" Lila asked, but the short blonde girl was already dragging them to the locker room, "COME ON!" They complied, knowing better than to never go against Rose when she got like this.

When they arrived, Rose pushed them into the room and shut the door behind her. Alya and Lila looked around and found their classmates either looking down at their phones, pacing, or looking like it was the end of the world. Fear was present on their faces, except for Adrien, who looked just as confused as them. Nino paced around and crumpled his cap in his hands, Ivan was holding Mylene’s hand as she sobbed, Juleka and Kim were biting their nails, Max was hitting his head agasint a locker door, Alix was sitting on the floor and violently wringing her hands until they turn red.

Sabrina looked up from her phone and frantically asked, "Have you guys seen the school blog?" Off their confused looks, she shoved her phone in Alya's face, "Read it!"

The Creole girl took a step back so the phone's bright screen didn't damage her eyesight even more. She took the phone out of Sabrina's hand and reads what has her classmates so afraid.

**_The Blue Empress has decreed it:_ **

**_A kingdom, their queen, and two fools shall be deleted._ **

**_And example of them shall be made._ **

**_Many have no reason to be afraid._ **

**_The Queen’s defenses shall be gone,_ **

**_Leaving her nothing but a pawn._ **

**_The Red Prince knows and sees all._ **

**_The Yellow Queen will watch you fall._ **

**_And The Blue Empress will stuff and mount you on the wall._ **

**_Good Luck~ The Primaries❤️💛💙_ **

After reading the cryptic text, Alya felt like someone owned her soul now. She shot Lila a look, to which the Italian responded with a shrug. "What does that mean?" she asked. "What's going on?"

Adrien raised his hand, "Yeah, I'm totally lost right now." He turns to Nino, "You just dragged me in here and had me read that weird message, too."

"... This isn't a cult, is it?" Alya asked as she began to slowly back out of the room.

Alix rolled her eyes, "Right, you guys are new. Well, here's how it goes. You know how in those chick-flicks, there's this group of girls that have all the power over the school?"

"For example, the Heathers, the Plastics, and the Ashleys," Max listed. Alix nodded along then continued, "Right, well this school has a group like that, only way more powerful. They're called the Primaries."

Kim added, "They've been running things since we started middle school."

Alya nodded, getting a clearer picture of everything, "Okay, but why are you guys scared of them? Those other groups got taken down."

"They're untouchable!" Kim exclaimed. "They have all these connections they can use against anyone! Two years before you three came here, this one girl, Chris Benard tried to steal their spots. Big mistake," he said grimly.

"Two days later, her father got a job in a new city, and no one's seen her since," Mylene said.

'Please. They can't be _that_ powerful.' "Well, why haven't we seen the Primaries around?" Lila asked, "Surely we would have noticed a group like that."

"They disbanded months before you guys joined our class," Max answered. "They explained that they didn't want students to fear them anymore and they wanted to spend their school years as normal students, so they each went their separate ways, and everything went on as you three are used to."

Remembering that the phone was still in her hands, Alya read the message again. Was it some kind of code? It sounded like a threat. "Okay, but what about the Emperess, and castle, and all of that? What's that about?"

"Well, the Blue Empress is the leader of the Primaries," Alix said. "She's on top of everything, delivers out the punishments and she decides when the Primaries take action. Next is the Yellow Queen. She carries out threats and uses fear to get what she wants. And then the Red Prince.” She gripped her sleeve and wrung it as she looked down at her feet. “He... He-“

Kim rested a hand on the shorter girl’s shoulder, and spoke instead, knowing why she got so apprehensive at the mention of the Red Prince. “He knows everything about everyone and knows what everyone is doing in school all the time. 'Castle' is their word for classroom, 'Queen' or 'King' is their word for a student going against them, and 'fool' means a teacher who's unfit for their position."

"But, why are you guys so afraid?" Adrien asked, still very confused. The Primaries did sound terrifying, but what did his class have to be afraid of? It didn't seem likely that they'd go after them since they didn’t do anything wrong. "What do the Primaries have against you?"

At that, everyone went silent, too afraid to respond. After a few more seconds, Juleka finally said, in a hushed, shuddery voice, "We... We just wanted to get back at her for bullying Lila."

 _'Mari-Brat's behind this?'_ Lila thought, _'Ha! What could she possibly do?'_ "Oh, s-so this is be-because of me?" Lila asked, crocodile dears already pouring, "Oh my Gosh! Marinette's going to do something horrible to you guys all because of me, isn't she?" As she fake-cried into her hands, Alya consoled her, "But we haven't done anything wrong!" She exclaimed, "Honestly, she's just being petty right now."

Nino calmly approached her, "Babe, please, please don't say stuff like that, especially when she and the others are around."

"But Nino-!"

"Alys!" He grabs her by the shoulders and looks her dead in the eyes. "I agree. Mari hasn't been acting like herself lately, but don't do anything crazy, alright?"

 _'Marinette's behind this?... What about not stooping to her level?'_ Adrien walked over and asked, "Nino, what did you guys do to upset Marinette and the... Yellow Queen and Red Prince like this?"

Nino held his hands up defensively, "I was just the look-out, dude! I didn't do anything."

Alix muttered, "Traitor."

"We just..." Mylene hesitated, "We sorta pushed her down in the halls, poured stuff over her sketches-"

Alya interrupted, "That's only because she was bullying Lila! We were just trying to teach her a lesson!" _'_ _They did what?'_ Adrien didn't know about that. Is that why Marinette has been so distant lately? What else have they done to her?

Ivan gave Alya a look that said, 'Don't interrupt,' and held Mylene's hand, urging for her to continue.

"... An-and we tore up his sketchbook."

"His?" Adrien repeated. "... You mean the Red Prince?" He noticed the guilty look on Alix's face, then he looked around and noticed that along with Marinette, Chloe and Nathaniel were missing. He then asked with a bit of anger in his voice, "What did you guys do to Nathaniel and Chloe?"

"I-it was my fault, really." Adrien tried very hard not to roll his eyes, "My memory was acting up, and I thought Nathaniel stole some of my work since our styles look so similar."

"We tore up his sketchbook, but we didn't know!" Alix shouted, defensively.

With a suspicious look, Adrien asked, "And that makes it better _how_? Alix, you of all people know how much Nathaniel loves that sketchbook." He looks over at Rose and Juleka, "So do you guys." What have they all be doing when he wasn't looking? He heard something about Nathaniel not getting along with Lila but didn't think too much of it. He didn't think Lila would go after Nathaniel of all people, but it looks like he was wrong.

Alix frowned, "We were trying to defend Lila! It's not her fault if her memory acts up, but they're always antagonizing her because of her conditions! We've tried apologizing, but Nath's giving us the cold shoulder. I had to force a conversation out of him yesterday, and guess what I found out, Agreste. He's siding with Marinette!" After her rant, she kicked one of the lockers and sat down on a bench, trying very hard not to cry over the fact that she lost her best friend. “Now he’s back and... God, he’s gonna kill me.”

"Okay, and what about Chloé?" He asked.

Before Sabrina could answer, "Sabrina grew a spine!" Rose yelled, "Lila helped her separate herself from Chloe, and now she's not following her every word."

Alya nodded, "It's not Lila's fault Chloé's a total bitch! Now, she had way better friends, and that's what she deserves!"

Adrien couldn't believe what he was hearing. Marinette was the most feared student at school, Nathaniel and probably Chloe were on her side, his classmates were doing horrible stuff to them behind his back, and because of their actions, they're in a lot of trouble... But, the more he thought about it, if Chloe is a Primary, then she's the only one with any sort of power. Sure, Marinette had her connections and could easily use them to debunk Lila's claims, but didn't because she decided to take the high road. And what about Nathaniel? What did he bring to the group? Maybe his friends were just overreacting, trying to paint them in a bad light. As always ever since Lila sunk her claws into them. And come to think of it, Marinette was overreacting too. Whatever this is will probably blow over and the two of them can talk-

The door opened with a slow, eerie creak. Standing there was Aurore with an unsettling smile on her face as she said, "They're back..."

The class looked past her and saw the other students running to the front doors. Aurore stepped to the side, allowing them to walk out. Rose and Juleka held hands for dear life, Max hid behind Kim, Ivan had Mylene in a protective hold, Alix tried to maintain a brave face but was clearly terrified, Sabrina tugged on the hem over her sweater vest and nervously scratches herself, and like Alix, Alya was trying to look brave and stand at the front while Nino tried to get her to stand in the back so she isn't first to face the Primaries wrath. Then there's Lila. Trying to look meek and afraid when really she was plotting different ways to spin everything around in her favor.

Nine took a gulp and said, "Let's go."

The Akuma class slowly made their way to the crowd of students blocking the front of the school. Once they were in the middle of the courtyard, Adrien felt a chill go down his back. He looked down where he saw Plagg poking his head out of his pocket. The kwami slid his flipper-hand across his neck before going back in. Adrien did not feel better. One student turned around and gasped, "It's them." He taps two other students' shoulders and points to the approaching class. The three of them whisper to students the crowd and it spreads like a wildfire.

The students began to part for them and gave looks that ranged from sympathetic, to smug, to fearful for them. It was like they were on death row. Alya's bravery was beginning to falter. She looked to her right and saw Mireille shaking her head solemnly and whispering, "Dead girl walking."

They were up the steps and on the checkered floor. Finally, they were outside with the many other students who wanted to be first to see the Primaries. Adrien looked around and saw students with their phones out. _'Okay, maybe they are a big deal around here.'_ Standing at the top of the stairs and leaning on the stone railing was Marc. Only now he was wearing a red jacket with a black crown painted on the back with red, yellow, and blue diamonds. _'Did he know about the Primaries?'_ Adrien wondered, _'Did Nathaniel tell him?'_

Parked right in front of the school was a sleek black car with tinted windows. It looked nicer and way more expensive than the Agreste's car. Stepping out from the driver's side was a tall, well-dressed man with reddish-brown hair. He opened the back door on the passenger side. Adrien, Alya, and Lila’s jaws dropped.

The first to step out was Nathaniel. Instead of his grey blazer, orange shirt, and purple jeans, he now wore a blood-red v-neck blazer, a white button-up shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He looked so poised, confident like no one had ever seen before, and like he was just done with everyone's shit.

The second to step out of the car was Chloe. Her sun-glasses were gone and her hair was held up by a yellow scrunchie. She was wearing a yellow blazer with a black collar and rolled-up sleeves to show the black lining. Along with that, she wore a light grey shirt that was a few shades close to being white and a black skirt with knee socks that were a few shades lighter than her blazer, and a pair of shiny black pumps.  
  
Then finally, Marinette. Adrien and Alya gaped. Her pigtails were curled at the ends and she was wearing makeup. Like Chloe and Nathaniel, she was also wearing a blazer, only her's was a beautiful royal blue with a pointed hem and six buttons in rows of two. She wore a white button-up dress shirt with a black skirt, black knee socks with blue and white diamonds, and a pair of black Mary Jane platforms she was somehow able to walk in without falling. She looked like Heather Chandler's sister.

If one were to look close enough, they could see black lapel pins in the shape of crowns pinned to their blazers, and each one had red, yellow, and blue jewels. Were they real? No one knew.

With a nod from Nathaniel, the driver took off, and the three of them made their way up the stairs to the entrance of the school as different thoughts went through the student's heads. The Akuma Class saw their well-dressed executioners approaching, feared for their lives, and were too scared to move. Those who want to see their heads on pikes smirked wickedly. The students who had nothing to fear and felt some sympathy stepped to the side and prayed the target class would do the same. Their prayers were answered as the target class moved out of the way just as the Primaries were at the fifth step. Alya and Adrien were reluctant to move and desperately wanted to say something to Marinette. Alya wanted to tell her off, yell, and Adrien wanted to pull her into and empty room and ask what happened to taking the high road. Mylene was able to pull them away and mouthed, 'No.' Once at the top of the stairs, Nathaniel held his arm out. Marc was at his side in an instant, and the two shared a kiss.

Before they could reach the doors, Alya pulled away from Mylène protective grip and grabbed Marinette's wrist, much to the shock of everyone.

"Girl, what is going on?! First, you're messing with Lila, now you and Chloe drag Nathaniel and Marc down with you, and-" Cutting her off was the intense glare Marinette was giving her right now. Alya remembered the glare she would shoot Chloe back when they were bitter enemies, only it wasn't as bad as this. Those glares were out of annoyance, but this one made Alya feel like Marinette wanted to strangle her.

"Let go, Cesaire."

And Alya did just that. Nino pulled her back, muttering an apology as he did, and the four made their way into the school, but not before Marinette sent Lila a sneer that actually had the Italian take a step back.

Everyone remained silent until Mireille said, "Good luck, you guys. You're gonna need it."


	5. Learn Your Place

“I’m sure some of you are wondering why we’ve returned,” Marinette stated, grabbing the students’ attention, “I suppose I should start from the beginning. We never actually disbanded. We’ve been lying in wait, observing you all, waiting for the right moment to strike. It would seem as though some people I once considered friends have turned traitor, and now they have massive targets painted on their backs.”

Seeing her classmates cringe at the mention of them, she smirked, “I’ve given them many chances to redeem themselves, but they still chose to believe the words of a fox with a silver tongue. Something I cannot allow. Along with them are two people I used to look for to bring justice. Instead, they follow a favoritism method where the rich and powerful students get away with murder while those below them are punished.” She noticed the class sending Chloé glares but she she sneered right back at them. ‘There you go, Queenie.’

Marinette continued, “Step out of line, and there will be severe repercussions. And that’s not a threat, it is a promise. I’m sure most of you remember what happened last year. Step out of line, we will make your lives a living hell.” She gave a faint smile, “But, we’re not completely heartless. Those who shall not be named have a month to retract the lies, fess up to their wrongdoings, and actually do their jobs. If they do this before or by the end of the month, all is forgiven. If not, hell hath no fury like a Primary. ‘Till then, you’ll find that your school and daily lives will be quite... Difficult. That will be all,” and at the snap of her fingers, the students dispersed and headed to their classes.

The students whispered amongst themselves. Alya was glaring daggers at Marinette the whole time through her speech. She couldn’t believe this girl! Threatening them when they haven’t done anything wrong! Well, she didn’t care what she did, if she wants to act like this, fine. Once she realizes that Lila is innocent and she’s doing all of this for nothing, she and Nathaniel will be crawling on their knees begging for forgiveness. Chloé? She couldn’t care less about.

—

Three days have passed, and The Primaries were the talk of the school. Some of the students and a few teachers pitied Mme. Bustier’s class, but many thought that they had it coming. They honestly thought they didn’t see when someone pushed Marinette to the floor, “accidentally” spilled drinks on her sketchbook, wrote profanities on Chloé’s locker, or tear pages out of Nathaniel’s sketchbook when he wasn’t looking? And all because of some serial liar. No one wanted to be associated with that class or their teacher in any way. If they were, The Primaries would probably come after them next. They weren’t taking any chances.

And Marinette kept her promise. Her classmates weren’t having the best time at school. No more free commissions, much to their outrage, Lila now needed a doctor’s note to get out of a certain project and an excuse note from her mother for her many absences, and Alya could no longer risk her safety to go track down Akumas. She should be thanking Marinette for that; why are some views on a tabloid bog more valuable than her life?

Then their seating arrangements changed in every classroom. No more could they sit with friends or significant others. Teachers followed the new seating arrangements for the Akuma class and it worked out well. None of them, with the acception of Lila going on and on about her tinnitus, were disrupting class or calling out an answer instead of raising their hands, so no one except the class saw a problem with this.

But Caline Bustier still just had to be her lenient self. She tried to coax Marinette into doing commissions for free again by saying,

”Money is important, but your friends do need your help.”

’We’re almost young adults, they need to learn how to do things for themselves.’

When Lila moaned about how she couldn’t work on a group project due to a sprained wrist, she let us slide and Lila’s only job was to be the speaker.

”Lila’s mother is busy, she doesn’t have the time to write notes.” ‘Okay, but you can still call get a doctor’s note.’

No Akumas showed up, but Marinette was certain that Bustier was not dumb enough to let Alya go and get footage for her blog.

Then she allowed her class to sit where they wanted instead of following The Primaries’ rules. No one paid attention, and everyone interrupted every five minutes. When they brought this to her attention, she spoke in that sugary sweet voice of her’s,

”It’s wonderful that their other classes are going along much smoother, but students just need some time to be with the people they’re close to.” This earned them some bold smirks for their peers.

All they could think was, ‘Isn’t that what lunch breaks, after school clubs, and weekends are for?’ They decided to let this slide. For now.

—

As the chauffeur drove them to Chloé’s hotel, Marinette scrolled through the texts Lila has been sending her

**Lila:**   
**Just give up!**

**Lila:**   
**This is honestly just pathetic.**

**Lila:**   
**Can’t wait to see what you pull tomorrow**

Chloé leaned over and took a look at the phone screen before letting out an annoyed groan, ”I keep telling you, get a new number. And how did that bitch get yours anyway?”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Two things. One: I keep telling you, if anything incriminating is sent, I can use it against them.”

Nathaniel nodded, ”She has a point, Chlo.”

Marinette continued, ”And two: Alya gave her my number so we could, ‘talk it out.’ Blah, blah, blah, shoot me.”

Chloé flicked her ponytail, ”Whatever. So, what are we gonna do about Bustier?” She asked

”Well obviously she isn’t going to listen to her _model student_ ,” she said in a mocking tone before gagging, “And even with our status she’ll do anything to make the others comfortable. We need someone who can intimidate her, make her listen, lay down the rules.”

”So, Damocles is out,” Nathaniel muttered, loud enough to elicit a cackle from Chloé.

Marinette smiled at her friends’ antics, “Well, it doesn’t have to necessarily be someone in a position of authority higher than her, just someone who can drill the rules right into her head. And if she doesn’t listen, to teach that woman a lesson.”

Chloé lips curled into a devious smirk, “You mean someone like Laney?”

Nathaniel groaned, “Her? Chloé, we already had her help us out last year.” He turns to Marinette who had the same smirk on her face, “Mari, come on!”

With a shrug of her shoulders, she responded, “Well, she’s very persuasive.” then muttered, “In her own way.” Off Nathaniel’s unimpressed look, she continues, “Well who else has a teaching license? Plus, she worked so well last time.”

“Yeah, she did,” Nathaniel said, nodding. With a sight of defeat, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, “Alright, I’ll text her.”

Chloé smiled, “Great. Then maybe while she’s at it, she can do something to Damocles. I’m thinking setting fire to his office?”

”Chloé,” Marinette rests her hand on the blonde’s shoulder, “we talked about this, arson can’t solve every problem.”

”Ugh! Fine. You’re no fun,” she pouted.

“Hey, maybe less of that and more deciding what to do for our project,” Nathaniel brought up as he texted on his phone.

Marinette groaned at the mention of the project everyone (Except Lila) was working on. At least Bustier put the three of them in a group together, probably so her ‘good students’ aren’t exposed to any negativity coming from her ‘problem students’. ”Right, we have to do a presentation on one memorable historical figure from the United States.”

“How about Benedict Arnold?” Nathaniel suggested, “Maybe they’ll learn what happens when you become a traitor.”

”Yep. You get hanged,” Chloé stated bluntly.

Marinette furrowed her brow in confusion, ”No, John André was hanged,” she corrected.

”I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Chloé is the chaotic one of the trio, and we’ll see who Laney is in the next chapter!


	6. Primaries Reign- Day 4/5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

Four days have passed since the Primaries’ return to power. The students treated them like royalty. When they asked for something, the students would go around the school looking for what they needed. They had a reserved table in the cafeteria that no one except them and the people they invited could sit at. People like Marc, Aurore, and Mireille would always sit there. Lili tried to worm her way over to the table under the guise of ‘trying to convince them into being nice’. She saw how the students sitting at the regular tables looked at them like they were made of diamonds. She wanted that attention for herself, but they weren’t budging. She tried everything, but when she got even just five feet close to them, two students would pull her away.

In classes that weren’t Bustier’s, they were the favorites, in their classmates’ opinions. The teachers didn’t reprimand them for disrupting class (Because they never did) If any of the others were bold enough to do anything to one of the Primaries, (Due to Lila’s prompting) they would trip them on their way to their seats or throw paper balls at them, the teachers would always call them out on it. They were so glad they had Mme. Bustier. She didn’t yell at them and she actually did something about Nathaniel, Chloé, and Marinette.

In the class’ eyes, she was God-sent and didn’t give up on lost causes like them. Once again, she tried to coax Marinette into baking some cookies and Nathaniel into painting a portrait for a picnic the class was throwing in honor of yet another one of Lila’s “accomplishments”. They didn’t even know about it. Marinette and Nathaniel said no. They didn’t falter when the class yelled at them, instead, they cowered in fear when all three of the Primaries sent them glares that shook each of them to their cores.

The class thought that they would get what was coming to them when Mme. Bustier asked them to stay behind for a bit. Wanting to see their looks of shame after walking out, they stayed behind and waited. Finally, the Primaries walked out after five minutes. And much to the class’s disappointment, they had looks of satisfaction on their faces while Mme. Bustier looked like she was regretting every single choice she’s ever made.

* * *

Five days have passed since the Primaries return. They were still all anyone talks about. The more they talked, the more Bustier’s class stopped trying to avenge Lila once they remembered the power those three held. But Lili wasn’t giving up on her mission to make their lives miserable. She’d whine to her classmates about how Marinette texted her to kill herself, Nathaniel tore up her sketches and stole her late uncle’s art supplies, and Chloé pushed her down in the halls. She tried to get them to do to them what she said they did to her, but the most they did was just tell them to knock it off. Their response? ‘Or what?’

It was time for Biology class with Mme. Mendeleiev. The students dreaded being in class for an hour with the toughest, meanest teacher in the school and her favorite students, knowing they’re sure to get special treatment. But to their surprise, they saw a tall woman with porcelain skin, long brown hair, and green eyes. She wore a purple button-up shirt tucked into black slacks and black flats.

“Hello, class,” she greeted with a smile. “I’m gonna be your substitute for today. My name’s Laura Mell. Now take your seats, and we’ll begin today’s lesson."

Lila was beaming. With a new teacher, the class could do whatever they wanted to Mari-brat, that blonde bitch, and what’s-his-face. She began writing in her notebook. It was just a detailed note for Mme. Mell, explaining how the three of them were “problem students” and are probably involved with gang activity. Good thing Nathaniel decided to wear a red leather jacket, that would really sell her story. While Mme. Mell was sorting through some papers, she placed the note on her desk.

When Alya asked what the note said, Lila, for once in her life told the truth. Alya paled, not that she wrote such things about them, but that her former bestie might be in a gang. Everyone needed to know about this, know how dangerous they were. So she got out her phone-

“And I do ask that you don’t have your phones out during my lesson.”

And would be writing her latest story later.

  
The class seemed to like Mme. Mell. She was kind but also tough when she needed to be, and the students respected that. The only thing they didn’t like was how when Lila said her wrist was acting up and she couldn’t take notes, Mme. Mell asked for a note. The class explained that Lila’s mother is too busy, but that wasn’t good enough for her. She simply told Lila to write with her other hand since she’s ambidextrous.

Lila’s eyes widened, ‘How does she know that?’ “Oh! Silly me, I completely forgot!”

The class was finally over, much to Lila’s relief. That woman gave her the creeps. Well, she’d be on her side soon when she reads the note. With a prideful smirk, she made her way to the cafeteria, deciding who would pay for her lunch today.

”Marinette, Chloé, Nathaniel, can you three stay for a few minutes?” Mme. Mell asked while holding Lila’s note in her hand. Kim and Alix snickered as they packed their belongings, only to be silenced by just one look for Nathaniel. Alix even held her head down. Once it was just those four in the classroom, their substitute asked, “You three wanna explain why I received a note saying you’re problem students and in a gang?” She shows them the note.

_’Madame Mell, I hope this doesn’t alarm you, and if anything happens, I will take full responsibility. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, and Chloé Bourgeois are the problem students in this class. They disrupt class, threaten us when we’re alone, steal our homework, and once they even pushed me down in the hallway. And I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I think they’re in a gang. Please look into it._

_-Anonimous’_

Chloe pressed her lips together, “Bitch can’t even spell anonymous right."

”So, you’ve met Lila," Marinette said with a roll of her eyes.

”Sausage hair?” They nod, “Yeah, I’ve seen people like her.” She starts scratching her head, “Manipulative skeezes who- God, this wig is itchy. I tell ya, our family is loaded,” she starts removing her wig, “but they can’t give me a decent wig.” Once it’s off, she takes off the wig cap and runs her fingers through her shoulder-length red hair. “Anyway, if this gets out, there’s gonna be some problems.” She turns to Nathaniel with a sympathetic look, “Hon, I know you made us promise not to do anything drastic after what happened last time, but if sausage’s lips start flapping, then, I don’t have a say in what the others are gonna do to her.”

Nathaniel groaned with frustration as he ran his hands through his hair, “Oh, God. She probably told Alya and now she’s posting it all on the Ladyblog right now!”

Her eyes widened, “The blogger girl? Shit! You told me she’s one of those snooping types?”

Marinette nodded and let out a sigh of exhaustion, “You have no idea.”

She shooked her head, “Better hope that girl keeps her phone out of our business. Maybe Christy can hack into her blog, make it so she can’t post anything.”

Marinette smiled. Finally, Alya could stop posting fake news about her and Chat’s nonexistent relationship, try and uncover who she is behind the mask, and if she’s no longer able to post anything, then she won’t get in the way during Akuma attacks, “Good. It’ll keep her out of trouble. Now, what about Mme. Bustier?”

Mme. Mell smirked, “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about her, Mari.” She walks behind her desk, opens a filing cabinet, and pulls out a red folder with many papers inside. “Really pays to have a cousin who can hack into the government’s files, huh?” She drops the folder down on her desk with a thud, showing the three students in front of her just how heavy it is. "You won't believe what that woman's been up to before she came here." Seeing the looks of disbelief on their faces, she taps the folder with a perfectly manicured finger, "Take a look."

Marinette slowly reaches for the folder and opens it. She pulls out a document with a photo of Mme. Bustier in the top left corner and begins reading. As she mutters the text under her breath, her mouth twists with disbelief, then with a gasp, she covered her mouth. "Oh my God." She hands Chloe the document so she can read it while Nathaniel reads over her shoulder, then she goes for another one.

Chloe and Nathaniel have the same reactions as her. Chloe's shock and disbelief turn to smugness once she's done reading, "Forgery, destroying evidence. That woman certainly has had quite a life." She leans over Mme. Mell's desk, "So? How are you going about this? Scatter a few of these in the same room as her, tape one to her classroom door every day?"

Mme. Mell chuckled, "No, I've got a different idea in mind."

Nathaniel let out an exasperated sigh, "Don't do anything crazy."

"When have I-"

"M. Haber," Nathaniel said, making the woman go back on what she was about to say, "Alright, Nathan. You have my word. I won't hurt her... Physically," She said after a short pause, "Alright, I've wasted enough of your time. Get to lunch."

The three of them nod and walk to the door. Nathaniel hangs back for a bit, hugs the woman, and says, "Thanks, aunt Laney," and he left. Laney smiled as she put her wig cap back on, "Any time, ahyan."

* * *

"What do you mean we can't sit here?" Alya asked the blonde reporter with a frown as Lila pretended to cry, "The tables are for everyone!"

"Your class has their own table," Aurore reminded her as she drummed her fingers against the table, "And, the Primaries clearly said you're not allowed to sit here unless they invite you, which is unlikely. So, please leave."

Alya put a hand on her hip, "Well you guys really shouldn't be sitting with them. Lila said-"

"Of course she did," Marc said with a roll of his eyes.

Alya sent the writer a scowl, "You aren't even listening!"

Marc examined his nails, trying to pick off the flecks of black nail-polish, "Well, we tend to zone out when she talks."

Lila's lip quivered, "Wh-what? A-am I really that boring? I-is that why you d-don't like me?"

"We don't like you because you're full of bullshit," Mireille said bluntly then went back to eating her lunch. She pauses when she still feels Alya's eyes on her, "You're still here?"

"You'll see!" She exclaimed, "Go to the Ladyblog tomorrow, and you'll know the type of people the Primaries really are!"

Lila grabbed onto her arm and barely whispered to her, "Alya, don't provoke them. They're probably part of their gang." Hearing that, Alya pulled the Italian away and back to their table.

"... Did she just say we were in a gang?" Mireille finally asked after a moment of silence. Before Aurore or Marc could say anything, The Primaries walked in and were greeted by many looks of admiration from students that weren't their classmates. When they passed by their class' table, time seemed to slow down around them. Marinette saw Lila with a triumphant smirk that no one else seemed to notice. She was saying, 'You think you've won? Just wait.' Marinette then arched a brow, basically saying, 'Try me, bitch.' Still in their non-verbal or physical fight, Marinette didn't notice Alix sticking her leg out, but Nathaniel did. With a quick hand, he gave her cup of water a tip, spilling it on her. As expected, she shot up from her now wet seat and The Primaries walked by without any problems.

"WHAT THE HELL, NATH?!" Well, maybe one.

Nathaniel, with an exhausted sigh, turned to the pink-haired girl, "Call it karma. Y'know, for trying to trip Mari." _'And for everything else.'_

Alix's cheeks turned a shade of red. She didn't think they saw that. Seeing the figure in front of her that used to be her friend still staring at her with a cold expression had Alix biting her lip- Something she would do when she's nervous, which is very rare. She tried not to let him see and did her best to stop but she couldn't.

Nathaniel smirked when he saw the skater biting her lip. He walked over to her, Alix was now biting the skin off of her lip. _'Shit. Did he get taller?'_ No, Nathaniel just wasn't slouching anymore. Hasn't in five days. "Don't do that again. Mari, Chloé, and I have worked our asses off keeping you and those ungrateful dumbasses safe,” he sneered. “You better watch your back, Kudbel. All of you." He turned on his heel and made his way to The Primaries' table.

Alix slowly made her way back to her seat, swept some of the water onto the floor, and sat back down. She turned the visor of her cap down when she saw the looks the others were giving her. The last thing she wanted was to be pitied right now. She felt a hand set itself on her shoulder, and before she could tell the person off, she saw that it was Rose. The blonde gave Alix a faint smile, and she did the same before looking back down.

~Meanwhile at the Primaries' table~ (I almost wrote Plastics. Eh, close enough)

Nathaniel always got a rush whenever he made a target of The Primaries cower in fear. They'd freeze in place, shake a little, avoid all eye contact. He remembered this one guy who used to be a student, Thomas Keerman. He was one of the school's top athletes, a good student, and overall nice guy... When the teachers were around. When they were gone, he'd start fistfights, harass the students (Mainly the girls), rip up their homework. And no one could do anything because Damocles backed up one of the school's "Star students" since there was no evidence. (Evidence that they could easily have if the school bought some cameras) So, The Primaries got to work.

One day, a new student came to school, Kyle Larson. He had dark red hair, brown eyes, and freckles were all over his body. He was also shy, quiet, a bit of a doormat. Thomas found his new target. One day while Kyle was alone in the locker room, Thomas walked in, and immediately started trouble. Kyle gave him a few warnings, but Thomas wasn't taking any of them seriously. He delivered the first blow, only for Kyle to grab his fist and squeeze until he heard a bone crack. Thomas went to Damocles about this, but due to Kyle's stature, his story wasn't believable. This went on again. Every time Thomas hurt a student, Kyle would do worse to him, not enough to put him in a hospital or make him have to wear casts, just to leave him in excruciating pain as a punishment. There were even some days when he didn't come to school because he was too afraid of what Kyle may do.

Kyle then gave him a choice after three weeks of torment whenever they were alone. Thomas could either fess up, get expelled, and have everything he's done put on his permanent record. Or, he could endure this for the entire school year and suffer in silence as he maintains his perfect record... He chose the first option. You'd think after that, Damocles would buy security cameras so incidents like that would never happen again, but no.

Before Thomas left, as he was gathering his belongings, The Primaries cornered him in the locker room, and they did not hold back on their verbal attacks. They told him that they'd send Kyle again if they hear anything about him bullying other students if he gets into another school. He left with the fear of The Primaries in his mind.

* * *

Mme. Bustier was in her classroom grading har class' papers. She was hoping it would distract her from what happened yesterday after her talk with Marinette, Chloé, and Nathaniel. She just didn't know what happened, Marinette used to be such a good student, not just with academics. She was the class example, the one who was supposed to show Chloé the love and acceptance she clearly needed. Now she's made Chloé worse than ever and dragged Nathaniel into this. It was just supposed to be a normal talk, she'd tell them to stop being so rude to their classmates, they were supposed to comply but instead, they nitpicked her teaching methods.

They called her incompetent, an enabler, lazy. They had stunned her into silence and left Bustier to try and reassure herself that none of those things were true; she is an amazing teacher. They were just angry for whatever reason and needed to take their anger out on her and her poor students. Maybe she could get one of them to be an example for her three problem students. Alya seemed like the right choice, considering she and Marinette are friends, but Chloé wasn't very fond of her, and Nathaniel never really talked to her. She needed someone who related well with the three of them.

  
That's when she came across Adrien's paper. He'd be perfect. Marinette would obviously do what he asked due to her noticeable crush on him, he and Chloé are best friends and come from influential families, and he and Nathaniel have recently started hanging out more. Once he got them to get along with their classmates again, she'd put Marinette back in the position of being the class example, and everything would go right again.

Not even finished grading the papers, Caline heard a knock at her door. She stepped away from her desk, made her way to the door, and opened it, revealing Mme. Mell standing on the other side, holding a red folder in her hands. Mme. Bustier felt intimidated by the woman for some reason; she was just radiating an aura that contrasted with the bright-eyed look on her face. "Mme. Mell, what can I do for you?"

"Bustier," she started before making her way into the classroom, "Let's have a little chat..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, ominous cliffhanger
> 
> Ahyan: Nephew


	7. Day 5- The End of Caline Bustier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mentions bullying, assault, and suicide. Read at your own risk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned!

Caline Bustier had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her gut the second Mme. Mell walked into her classroom. Why did she pick this day to eat her lunch in the classroom? There was just something off about this woman; the way she looked at her had the redhead on her toes.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Bustier asked as she leaned on her desk, putting on a relaxed demeanor despite every emotion she was feeling.

"Well," she smiled, "I like to make an effort to get to know the people in the school. Names, birthdays, interests. Call me a 'people person,' she joked.

Off her laughter, Mme. Bustier chuckled a bit, but still kept her guard up.

"So, tell me a little about yourself," she said before sitting on the front desk, "There's just something about you; I don't know."

Bustier smiled, "Well, I grew up with three younger brothers; they were triples," she rolled her eyes, "So I was always the one wrangling them whenever my parents went out. It wasn't easy. Whenever I had friends over from school, they'd sneak up behind us and pull on our hair."

Mme. Mell laughed, "That must've been a struggle."

"Oh, it was," she groaned, "Once, they snuck into my room and stole my makeup to use as war paint, and then they tied me up in a chair using my favorite cardigans." She chuckled, "I'll admit, I was a little ticked. But looking back, it was quite funny."

"What about your school life?" Laura probed. "Did anything there inspire you to become an educator?"

She hummed in thought, "No... I don't recall. Now, I wasn't all too involved in school activities. I did join a club or two and I was often the teacher's assistant."

Laura quirked an eyebrow, "Were you now?"

She nodded, "I passed out homework, looked after the class whenever the teacher was out, and I'd often clean the chalkboard."

"Ah, yes. The job every child gets excited about for some reason."

The two teachers laughed.

"It's still a mystery why students want to stay behind to clean the board," Mme. Bustier said through her laughter. She didn't know why this woman rubbed her the wrong way, she seems so nice. She listens, has an infectious laugh; she's a true delight. Maybe the way she handled her classes with her teaching methods is what had the young teacher on edge. Caline wasn't much to judge, especially when it came to methods of teaching, but she could stand to be a little more trusting. She heard how poor Lila was bawling her eyes out because she didn't have a note from her mother or doctor, and Laura wasn't having any of it.

"Tell, me a little about your homeroom class," Mme. Mell said, rousing Bustier from her thoughts.

Bustier internally sighed. She had always taken pride in each of her students, their interests, and their accomplishments. But now? If she told the substitute about her three problem students, it'd reflect poorly on her as a teacher. Well, she's only been here for one day. She couldn't possibly know how many students she has, or their names.

"Well, there's Kim and Alix, they're sort of the athletic types," she smiled. "They're always getting into these dare contests in and out of school. Sometimes they'll cause a small ruckus during class."

Mme. Mell arched an eyebrow, "'Ruckus?' You mean they disrupt the class?"

"No, not at all! Sometimes, they just aren't patient and often do their contests during class," she explained, but Mme. Mell still had an incredulous look on her face.

"... Okay. Anyone else?"

"There's Alya." She doesn't notice Laura rolling her eyes, "She actually runs a very popular blog on Paris' heroes and it's gained quite a following."

"Yes, I think I've seen a few articles. That's quite impressive for someone so young to have one of the most popular blogs in the city," she commended, "So, the heroes give her interviews?" _'Come on, Caline. Take the bait.'_

The redhead tensed a bit, but it did not go unnoticed by the woman in front of her, "Well, she has managed to get a couple, and she's even gotten interviews with people who've been saved first-hand by Ladybug." Off her impressed look, Caline felt a sense of pride. This was going well so far.

"Now, I've been wondering, how does she film the Akuma attacks?" She asked, "Does she use some sort of drone with a camera?"

Mme. Bustier's smile dropped a bit, "... Um... Not exactly."

Mme. Mell arched an eyebrow, "Excuse me? Caline, please don't tell me she actually runs out in the middle of Akuma battles just to get footage for her blog," she begged, but internally, she was laughing maniacally, knowing she had this woman where she wanted her. "Did you talk to her parents?" Before Caline could speak, she continued, "It seems dangerous for a young girl to be so close to a fight between superheroes and villains."

"I... I've never actually talked to her parents, but-"

"I-I'm sorry, you've never called Miss Cesaire's parents to discuss this? I understand that this isn't a school issue, but-" Off Bustier's look of guilt, a look of repulsion forms on her face, "You don't allow her to run out of class and film Akumas, do you? Caline! You are supposed to keep your students safe, not-"

"Alya can take care of herself," she interrupted, "she doesn't get too close to the fights. Plus, the Ladyblog is her life, she-"

"A blog is not her life!" She yelled, "Caline, by allowing one of your students to just run out and get too close to Akumas who can control the weather, create mummies, and make the Eiffel Tower disappear all for some views on a blog, you are putting the life of a child who needs your guidance in danger! You need to set an example!" _'Hook.'_

"The class does have an example!" She exclaimed.

"Well, who if not you, their teacher?" _'Line.'_

"Marinette is supposed to be the class example!" She quickly covered her mouth, _'Sinker.'_

Laura tried not to smirk, "Really? Tell me about her. What's Marinette like?"

What was Caline supposed to say? Her star pupil turned out to be a bad apple who antagonized a student with a lying disorder, threatened her fellow classmates, dragged two down with her- one who was making progress and one who shouldn't be involved in stuff like this- and criticized her teaching methods with some of the harshest words she's never heard one of her students use?

"Marinette is a bright young girl, she's just been... Astray, lately."

"Define 'astray'. You allow an 'astray' student to be your class role model?"

Bustier frowned, "She's a good person, she's just being upset for all the wrong reasons. If some students follow her-"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Laura set her folder down on the desk and put her hands in a prayer position before taking a deep breath and setting her hands back to her sides, "So... When you say 'astray' do you mean 'problem student?"

"O-of course not!" She said defensively, "I don't have problem students! Just students who need good role models in their lives-"

"Like a teacher or their parents? You can't expect one student to be the role model for the entire class. Especially if said student apparently needs a role model of her own," she snarked.

Bustier was getting fed up with this woman. How dare she question her? She runs the classroom just fine. "I said she's not a problem student! She just needs to learn how to set aside her jealousy and learn to accept one of the students!"

"Which student would that be? Alix, who tried to trip her during lunch?"

"I'm Alix wouldn't-"

"Sure, Bustier. Now tell me. Who is this _precious_ _student_ Marinette has been antagonizing and, along with the rest of the class, needs to set an example for?"

"I... I can't-"

"You can't or you won't?" She gets off of the desk, picks up the folder, and stalks toward the redheaded teacher, prompting her to back away, "Let me tell you something. In my years of teaching, I have never met someone so fucked up as you. None of your dumbass methods make sense. Your force one student to be the class example for what? To maintain order? If that's so, then maybe Marinette should be the teacher because _teachers_ are supposed to be the example. And if she is a problem student, why is she still the example? Hm? It makes zero. Fucking. Sense," she hissed. "And, do you realize the pressure you're putting on a single child?"

"I-I was going to have Adrien-"

"Oh! Then that makes it so much better!" She exclaimed sarcastically. "Yes, put that burden on another student. Why? Explain to me, why him? A boy who's been homeschool his entire life, I've heard. Why would he be a better replacement?"

"W-well, he's polite, he's friends with the other students who have been... N-not compliant, and Marinette, she has feelings for-"

"So, you're manipulating your own students, am I hearing this correctly? You're using one of your students' feelings against her to turn her into your perfect little student? God, you make me sick." She smirked, "But... I can't say I'm surprised."

Bustier blinked, "... What do you mean?"

"Caline, you say you only have three brothers?"

She furrowed her brow, "What does that-"

"Answer me," Laura demanded.

She nodded, "Yes!"

"No sisters? Any girl cousins?" She shook her head again, "Odd. So, tell me... Who exactly is Olympia Louquerre?"

Mme. Bustier paled. The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Her knees buckled as she made her way to her desk and sat down while Laura sneered at the cowardly woman.

"H... How-"

Laura slammed her hands down on the pale woman's desk, startling her, "I know every little thing about you, Olympia. Every little dark deed you've done." She drops the folder down on the desk and opens it, showing the files. She pulls one out, "Let's start with this. It's a note from one of your previous students. She put it in the suggestion box, yet... The principal never received it for some reason. It reads, "M. Schaefer, I need to talk to you about Mme. Louquerre. She is too lenient on the bullies. Last week, Christy Finatia threw my phone down the stairs. When I went to Mme. Bustier about this, she told me to forgive her. And when I planned on talking to you in person, she berated me, saying I need to be an example.'" Laura set the note down and looked through the files for something else.

Caline- Or rather, Olympia, couldn't believe this. She kept her past hidden from everyone. How was she supposed to know her teaching methods had some minor flaws? She still had faith in them, they just needed to mature over time and-

"Oh, look at this," Laura piped up as she held up another piece of paper, "A police report from a few years ago. "'February 18, 2007. Alyssa Thompson and Bernard Laket broke into the home of Alexander Sweeney at 9:45 p.m., sedated him with chloroform, and proceeded to beat him in his sleeping state. While doing this, they wrote homophobic profanities on his skin.'"

Olympia remembered those three. She had explained to Alexander that Alyssa and Bernard had different upbringings and just didn't understand his "lifestyle". Instead of telling the principal, she told Alexander to forgive them and help them to see that being gay isn't wrong. She'll admit, it took a while, but that's just the process, and it was Alexander's fault as well for not communicating with them. At least that's what she told herself.

"'The chloroform eventually wore off, and Alexander awoke in immense pain. His arm, spine, and both of his legs were damaged, causing him to become paralyzed from the waist down. The assailants also punched him repeatedly in the throat, damaging his vocal cords and rendering Alexander mute.'" She pulls another sheet of paper out of the file and holds it up in front of Olympia. "Remember this class?"

Olympia stared in horror at this picture. In it was her, and twelve students who looked to be sixteen to seventeen-year-olds. Standing in the middle was a boy with dark skin and curly black hair. He was smiling nervously as he stood between a blonde girl and a brunette boy. When Olympia looked closer, she noticed that the brunette seemed to be pinching the other's arm and the girl had her foot pressed on top of his.

"If I hadn't said it already, I'll say it again, You make me sick," she sneered. "Poor Alexander couldn't even tell the police that you enabled his bullies' behavior. No. That was someone else; the reason you changed your name. I assume you remember Cadence Borden?" The woman's white as snow face was enough of an answer. "I don't even need to pull out that police report. Who could forget something so heinous? Here's a little summary in case the shock caused you to bury that memory deep into your twisted psyche. Cadence Borden was a kind girl. She was student body president, captain of the pep squad, donated money to charity whenever she could, and was an excellent tutor. Everyone loved her except for one. Mindy Chase. Yes, she was rich and got everything her little heart desired, but she was selfish, manipulative, and just a stone-cold bitch. She wanted the popularity Cadence had, so she set out to make her life a living hell. She whined to the teachers, telling them Cadence has been bullying her, but they demanded proof except for one." Olympia hung her head in shame.

"She told one lenient teacher a little sob story and she immediately coddled her. She punished Cadence for crimes she didn't commit and banned her from class trips. Cadence's friends started to become wary of her and isolated themselves from the poor girl. She was kicked off of the pep squad, forced to resign as class president, and no one came to her for tutoring. One day, Mindy, her posse, and Cadence crossed paths in a hallway where Mindy and her backup proceeded to beat Cadence to a pulp. When the lenient teacher who caused all of this saw what was going on, she panicked. If the principal found out that she allowed Mindy to do this because of one horrible lie, she'd be fired. So, she looked through the footage of every surveillance camera in that hallway and edited out the fight, letting Mindy go off scot-free. This continued on for months. Cadence tried to switch classes, but the lenient teacher wouldn't allow her to do so, worried she tell another teacher and Mindy would pick on another student, so she did everything to keep her in her class. Cadence couldn't take it anymore. She was tired of it all... Her suicide note was three pages long and extremely detailed. When news spread like a wildfire, the police arrested Mindy, her posse, and went for the person who started this mess... But the lenient teacher had fled down and changed her name." She leaned over the desk and got in close to Olympia's face, "To Caline Bustier."

Finally, Olympia spoke, "What do you want?"

Laura smirked, "You have two options, Olympia. Option A: Quit and I'll keep this little secret between us," she smiled, but it was not settling Olympia's nerves. "Or option B: I take this file to the feds. Imagine Officer Raincomprix's reaction when he discovers that a criminal has been teaching his daughter all these years. Go on... It's your choice."

There was no way Olympia was picking the second option. She worked too hard to her past and keep it all a secret from everyone. Her methods were supposed to keep the peace, not cause so many students to suffer.

"... You won't tell anyone if I quit?"

"I swear on Cadence's grave."

A tear streamed down Olympia's cheek. She lifted a shaky hand to wipe it away, "O-okay."

"But I swear to every single god in existence." She reaches over and grabs Olympia by the front of her shirt before pulling her close to her face, "If I hear that you get another teaching job and proceed to use your flawed methods to destroy and wear down those poor children, I will come after you and make it so no other child suffers like the many, many ones you've hurt over the years. I will do to you what their tormentors have done. Write horrible names on your skin, cut your hair, beat you in your sleep, vandalize your room if I have time. And no one will ever know who did it. And don't bother going to the police." She whispers, "Because if I go down, you go down as well." She releases her shirt then places the papers back in the file, "Well, Olympia. I so enjoyed our little talk." She heads for the door but stops, "Oh, and two things. I better not see you here on Monday. And I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Then she left. Little did she know that a certain blonde had heard everything and ran away before she saw him.


	8. Day 6- Goodbye, Ladyblog. Goodbye High Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien FINALLY sees that the high road is stupid!

Alya stared at her computer screen in utter disbelief. It was all gone. Everything. A year's worth of Akuma fight footage, theories on Ladybug's identity, LadyNoir pictures taken at just the right moment, and Lila's stories. And instead, there was a red screen with a black outline of a skull, laughing at her on a continuous loop. How the hell is she supposed to let everyone know that the Primaries are a dangerous gang?! If this story doesn't get out, they might hurt someone. She didn't want to believe it, but the way Marinette's been hostile lately, it's possible that she wouldn't hesitate to hurt someone. And during lunch, she saw the look in Nathaniel's eye when he confronted Alix after she tried to trip Marinette. It looked like he wanted to kill her. Chloé? She could definitely see hurting someone.

Alya knew that things have been tense lately. The class accidentally tore up Nathaniel’s sketchbook, but it wasn’t their fault, or Lila’s! Her memory was acting up and she thought Nathaniel stole her sketches. She tried to make up for it by saying she could hook him up with a professional writer, and he got offended because to him it sounded like she was saying Marc wasn't a good writer. That boy needs to learn how to control their temper. Then Chloé and Sabrina were drifting apart, which is actually a good thing. Sabrina needs better friends who won’t take advantage of her every time. Then there’s Marinette. She’s had it out for Lila since day one and now she’s accusing innocent Lila of tearing up her design book filled with commissions. Lila's done so much for her by suggesting her to the celebrities she's designing for, and this is how Marinette repays her? She even wrote a fake note and Alya’s finally had enough.

She texted the class in the group chat, excluding Marinette, Nathaniel, Chloé, and unknowingly Adrien, and told them what happened. It was mostly spent trying to console Lila and telling her she did nothing wrong. Then everyone watched as the multiple angry text messages from Alix took over their screens, going into detail about how unfair Nathaniel is being, and she was right. He knew Lila had all these medical issues and was choosing not to forgive her for a simple mistake. Soon, everyone agreed that staying away from those three would be their best option. While they were living the high life with Lila, they can all beg for forgiveness when they see that Lila was telling the truth all along. That probably won't be happening soon.

"How did this happen?" Alya tried clicking refresh for the hundredth time, but the skull remained on the screen. "Ugh!" In a huff, she grabbed her phone and stormed over to her bed. Angrily, she scrolls through her contacts and taps on Nino's number. After a few rings, he answers, "Hey babe. What happened to-"

Knowing what he was about to ask, she yelled, "I got hacked, Nino! Someone hacked the Ladyblog! Everything is gone!"

"Alys, calm down-"

"I won't!" She exclaimed. "Who would do this?!"

"Alya, you _need_ to calm down," Nino said with a bit of warning in his voice. "Hawkmoth might send an Akuma for you."

Alya's grip on her phone tightened until she took a few breaths in and out to calm herself down. She was still furious that this happened and wanted revenge on the asshole who did this, but not as an Akuma. She took a few more breaths and said, "Okay. I'm fine. Who the hell would do this? The Ladyblog was important to so many people; why did this happen?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure out who did this, okay?"

Alya sighed, "Alright. Thanks, Nino."

"No problem. And you can still record the battles,” he reminded her. “Why not post them on your Twitter until we find out what happened?”

Alya smiled at the idea. That’s what she loved about this boy; he always comes up with solutions to any of her problems. “Yeah... Thanks, Nino.”

”No problem. So, what were you gonna post, anyway?”

”The Primaries.” She answered. As Alya scrolled through her phone, she didn’t notice now Nino was trying to sputter out a response.

She pressed her thumb on the Notes app, which she uses for her journalism. It opened up to show different folders, ‘Theories’, ‘LadyNoir’, ‘Temp Heroes’, ‘Akuma Analysis’, ‘Lila’, and one at the very bottom, ‘The Primaries’. After Lila had expressed her concern that the three of them were in a gang, Alya knew she had to tell everyone the truth. She tapped on the folder which opened up to five notes, ‘Gang Activity’, ‘Dangerous?’, ‘Weaknesses’, ‘Their Allies’, ‘Goals’.

She tapped on ‘Gang Activity’ and gave Nino a summary. “Lila thinks they might be in a gang, and honestly, I can see that. You saw everyone’s reactions when they stepped out of that car, and it’s obvious they have some sort of hold on the teachers.” She gasped, “What if they threatened their jobs?!”

”Alya-“

”With Chloé on their side, it’s possible. She could call up the mayor, make him cut back on funds for the school.”

”Babe-“

”But how are Marinette and Nathaniel a threat? What sort of power do they have?”

”Honey-“

”Yes, Marinette designs for celebrities, but she doesn’t have connections like Lila. She’s had tea with the Queen and a Prime Minister! She should be the ruling that school, not them. But seriously, Nathaniel?! Is he some secret rich kid or something?”

”Light of my life-“

“At least Lila wouldn’t threaten us or the teachers, and-“

”RENA!”

Now _that_ got Alya to end her rant. She listened to what Nino had to say.

”Alya, just... Just don’t meddle with The Primaries, okay? Yeah, sure. I-I mean it’s not cool what they’re doing, but don’t cross them.”

She couldn't believe this. The Primaries are probably dangerous and Nino's telling her not to investigate?... Okay, that's reasonable, but she needs to get the word out there. Yes, she had a few followers on Twitter who would often retweet her posts a few times, but the Ladyblog a serious blog with thousands, maybe more, viewers. If she posted about the Primaries on Twitter, her followers would think it's just petty school drama.

”Nino-“

”Alya, they not in a gang.” Alya furrowed her brow. “Lila comes from Italy, right? There are some stories about the mafia terrorizing towns, so maybe she just got paranoid.”

Alya thought about it. She wanted to believe Nino, she really did. She has heard some things about the Italian Mafia, but The Primaries just screamed gang. Everyone feared or respected them, they had matching outfits, there was their threat to the class, and they’re obviously controlling the school somehow. They probably threatened the teachers to make them switch seats. Who knows what else they’ll do? They could hire someone to hack into the school system and lower their grades. That group needed to be stopped- Them and those associated. For now, Alya will just have to lay low until she can gather up enough evidence to take to the police. Of course, that would involve not getting on their bad side or they might keep a close eye on her, preventing her from gathering the proof she needs.

"Okay, you might be right," she conceded.

Nino sighed with relief, "Thank you, Alysa. I-I know you like to get a good story," Alya playfully rolled her eyes, "but please just leave this alone. The Primaries are a lot more powerful than you think. They could ruin our careers before they even start."

Should Alya still go along with this? Journalism was very important to her, it was a career she wanted to pursue. But now her blog, probably the thing that could get her into any college she desired, has been hacked, and all of her articles were gone. Why didn't she back them up? When Alya finds out who did this, they better pray that Hawkmoth doesn't send an Akuma for her.

Nino chuckled, "Y'know, heh. There was actually a rumor going around that Nathaniel's family was the mafia."

"... What?"

"Yeah, it was started by some asshole who used to go here," he said. "But the Primaries got rid of him because he kept forcing the smarter students to do his homework." _'That's a good reason for the Primaries to be here, not to harass Lila and them,'_ Alya thought. _'They should be finding out who framed Marinette the day she got expelled, not this!'_ "Yeah, and he beat up this one guy who refused. It was so bad that he had to go to the hospital and was put in a coma, so they took action. The day he was arrested, he started spewing some stuff about the Kurtzbergs, saying they were dangerous, they're controlling the police department." He laughed, "Dude was crazy! He kinda had it out for Nath, so of course, we didn't believe him."

Alya laughed at that. The guy was obviously delusional because the way Nathaniel describes his family always made them sound so sweet. His aunts and uncles would take him to his favorite art galleries when they were in town, his grandparents owned a little kosher restaurant not too far from the school, his older cousins smothered at every family reunion, and the younger ones would beg for him to play with them and draw their favorite cartoon characters. It made Alya a little sad knowing that such a kind family had a black sheep in the herd.

"Hey, I'll call you back, babe. I'm gonna see if Adrien's alright. He's been acting kinda weird."

Alya nodded, understanding. Yesterday it looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Okay, talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you, too."

* * *

... What the hell just happened?

Adrien has been having an unbelievable week. It felt like a dozen baseballs just came at him all at once. It took him some time to process everything and wrap his head around it all. Here's what he got: For who knows how long, his classmates have been harassing Marinette, Nathaniel, and Chloé. They tripped Marinette in the halls, ruined her designs, and showed no sympathy for when her sketchbook was destroyed. Well, she did tell them Lila tore it up, so of course, they didn't believe her since Lila was such a _precious angel._ They tore up Nathaniel's sketchbook after Lila accused him of stealing her artwork. Lila doesn't even draw, and they've been friends with him for years; they know he despises art theft. Then Lila flaunts her fake connection to some amazing professional writer, and Nathaniel was pissed. Sabrina separated herself from Chloé and won't even bat an eye at her anymore. Adrien's noticed they've been distant for a while, but just thought Chloé was giving Sabrina a chance to do what she wants, but it went further than that. Sabrina hates her now.

Now they're out for revenge. Marinette is the most powerful student in school, maybe Paris, and Nathaniel and Chloé are her partners in crime. He always thought that Marinette and Chloé couldn't stand each other after everything that's happened but here they are. Laughing together and being in the same car without it crashing from the driver getting distracted by their fighting. The three of them probably hold some kind of power over the teachers who either feared or respected them. Right when the Primaries show up, that's when the teachers decide to switch their seats and enforce their rules on the class? That can't be a coincidence. Well, it had its perks. The teachers aren't letting Lila sit next to him, thank you Marinette, the classes are quieter without anyone interrupting, and the teachers aren't letting anyone get away with murder unless they have a note. Lila holds back on her disability lies in class, but when she's in homeroom or lunch? Cue the waterworks.

Speaking of homeroom...

Adrien always had lunch at home since his father forbade him from eating cafeteria food. He could see why. The mystery meat, the cold vegetables, the oddly soft ice cream that wasn't refrigerated properly, and the crunchy burgers. Model diets didn't seem all too bad now. The car was having some trouble starting, so Adrien had a while to dawdle since his father never allowed him to take public transportation or walk home unless he was with someone. His friends were all at lunch and probably didn't want to just walk with him only so he could go have a bland lunch at home. So, Adrien just waited out in the halls. No one was around since they were having some of that soft ice cream today, so he could talk to Plagg out in the open.

He expressed his concern about Marinette. It was clear that she was done with Lila and possibly the entire class, and she had every right. Adrien wasn't too interested in the fashion world, but he knew that a designer's sketchbook was their most prized possession. Once when he was ten, one of his father's rivals hired someone to sneak into the mansion so they could steal his current sketchbook filled with the most beautiful designs the tween has ever laid eyes on. His father caught him but didn't call for the Gorilla to take care of him. Gabriel Agreste beat the man to a pulp and looked fabulous while doing it, too. So yeah, don't mess with a designer's sketchbook. And from what he heard, in that book was a brand new design for Jagged Stone, something he could wear to an awards show. He was probably going to pay her an exorbitant sum of money, launch her career, and Lila ruined everything!

Not only is she ruining their social lives, but also their financial lives. Marinette and Nathaniel make money off of their work, no one can just destroy the work of an artist and expect to get off scot-free. The fact that they didn't hire a team of lawyers to sue the sausages off of her head baffled Adrien.

'How's the high road looking now?' Plagg asked him in a snarky tone of voice that had Adrien ashamed that he'd ever suggested that to Marinette.

Oh, Adrien would gladly toss that whole philosophy out the window. If he knew what had been going on, he would have framed Lila for a crime. He had the money, a team of lawyers, it could work. And no one would ever know. No one hurts his friend, best friend, and whatever Nathaniel was to him- they don't really interact. In conclusion, screw the high road. Whatever The Primaries are doing, he's supporting them. He's never seen Plagg look so proud.

'Finally! The last runner crosses the finish line!' Obviously a crack at Adrien's obliviousness to his method. He grew up in a world of cameras and people watching your every move, judging, making rumors. He was taught to just let it go, be the better person, and not add more gasoline to the fire. And it worked for him. But Marinette wasn't a celebrity, and she preferred to resolve problems instead of just sitting back and hoping things will get better.

As he was walking around and listening to Plagg point out every. Single. Thing wrong with the high road method, he heard a discussion coming from Mme. Bustier's classroom. Feeling curious, Adrien listened through the door and heard the new substitute teacher, Mme. Mell, talking to Mme. Bustier. Adrien liked her. She actually asked for a note from Lila's doctor and subtly pointed out a lie. If only she were permanent.

Adrien doesn't normally listen to other people's conversations, but he just couldn't resist. What they were talking about sounded so interesting. Mme. Bustier had three younger brothers and was always taking care of them; that something fun and new to learn about. He would love to have siblings. He had Felix, but they don't live together, so it wasn't the same. When he heard the part about her brothers sneaking into her room, being an only child sounded okay. Then they got on the topic of school.

Nothing at her school really inspired Mme. Bustier to become a teacher, and she was the teacher's assistant. She passed out assignments, not too exciting. But she got to erase the chalkboard, which was awesome. Then it went from her student life to her teaching life. Mme. Mell asked about her class, and Adrien was not going to stop listening now. He wanted to know what Mme. Bustier thought of them all, every student wants to know what their teachers think of them, it's not just him. It was just natural for teens to wonder what everyone- no matter who they were- thought about them.

She talked about Kim and Alix first, explained how they were athletes, could cause a disturbance from time to time, and it was true. He liked them, be they could be a little distracting during class. He needed to maintain his good grades, or his father would probably pull him out of school, thinking he wasn't learning anything. It seemed Mme. Mell saw them as a distraction, too, but Mme. Bustier tried to turn it around by saying they were impatient when it came to their dare contests. It was odd how she just softened it, but Adrien didn't think too much of it and continued to listen, anxiously waiting for her to say his name.

To his disappointment, they talked about Alya next. In Adrien's opinion, it was starting to sound like Mme. Bustier was just bragging about her students. Kim and Alix being athletes, and Alya running the most popular blog in Paris. Maybe it was a pride thing amongst teachers. The more accomplished students, the better. What they said next had Adrien horrified. _'She's not doing anything to stop Alya from filming fights?!'_ As Chat Noir, he would occasionally express to Alya how dangerous it was being so close to the Akuma battles, but she didn't seem to want to listen. He got concerned, thinking her parents were too lenient, but it was really Mme. Bustier's fault. She allows a teenager to skip classes and go film battles between magical superheroes and weather-controlling/city flooding/building-demolishing/zombie-making villains! And worst of all, her parents don't know, and she's putting a stupid blog over Alya's life!

Then there came something about setting an example, Adrien didn't hear too much since he was still thinking about Alya. Maybe Chat Noir could talk to her and teach her the importance of her life. What snapped him out of his thoughts was the mention of Marinette. He really started to listen. Marinette is the class favorite. What Mme. Bustier had to say about her must be positive.

_'... Astray?'_

What was astray supposed to mean? Marinette is a well-behaved student. Was she calling her that because of Lila? Of course, Mme. Bustier was one of the Italian's supporters.

Then Mme. Mell asked why Mme. Bustier would allow an 'astray' student to be the class roll model. Adrien didn't know Marinette was the class's role model. He didn't even think students were supposed to be role models. Wasn't that a job for the teachers? Role models should be older than you, in his opinion.

_'Problem student?! Since when?!'_

_'Yes, Mme. Mell is right! Parents and teachers should be role models!'_

_'If Marinette is the alleged problem student, why is she the role model?'_

Then there was something about jealousy. He was tired of hearing that word; what did Marinette have to be jealous of? She was a well-accomplished girl who had celebrity clients. She was living the life Lila wished she had... Alix tried to trip her during lunch? Was she asking for death? He didn't know much about the Primaries, but from just one look, he knew that they wouldn't hesitate to high-kick someone in the nose.

Mme. Mell was sound like she was getting angry. She called Mme. Bustier's methods nonsense, expressed how Marinette should be the teacher since she's the class example, and how Mme. Bustier was putting that pressure on her. She was right; a child can't have such a huge responsibility on her shoulders. After her rant, he heard his name. Was she going to pressure him into being the new class example? Thank God Mme. Mell came to his defense because he could not handle the responsibility. But why him? He tried to listen in and get more information, but it went a little quiet so he couldn't hear his teacher's reason for wanting to make him the new role model.

Then it just went silent for a moment. They were still talking, but it was quiet for a while until he heard Mme. Mell asking about someone named Olympia before they went completely silent again. He listened in closer. She called Mme. Bustier Olympia. Was that her name? Why did she change it? It was quiet, but Adrien was able to make out everything. Why didn't she punish Christine, Chrissy, or whatever her name was for throwing another student's phone down the stairs? Teachers are supposed to deliver punishments to the bullies, and they are definitely not supposed to punish the victims!

Then... Something, Sweeney was beaten to a bloody pulp by homophobes. Mme. Bustier, or whatever her name is has a class full of LGBTQ students! If one of them is getting bullied for their sexuality or gender, is she going to do something about it? They didn't go further into detail about how... Olympia handled the situation, but based on the topic of their conversation, Adrien suspected that she didn't get involved with helping that poor boy.

Then what Mme. Mell talked about next had him feeling queasy the moment the story was over. Mindy sounded like the Chloé he knew and Lila's evil child. She was spoiled, manipulative, and a backstabber. She bullied this Cadence girl mercilessly, and Olympia allowed this to happen because Mindy got to her first. _'... This could have happened to Marinette,'_ he realized. Cadence sounded so much like Marinette- kind, active at school, had many friends. Then one day, a horrible person came along and took it all away from her with the aid of a teacher. She actually erased the footage of Mindy and Cadence's ex-friends beating her up and did this for months! She couldn't switch classes, she had no one else to turn to... So she killed herself. How could Mme. Bustier let this happen? She's a teacher for God's sake, someone who's supposed to help her students, not coddle bullies!... And she's been doing this to the class...

_'Why is she keeping this a secret?! Mme. Mell should be taking this to the police!'_

_'No criminal should teach a child!'_

_'I was being taught by a criminal this entire time?!'_

_'What is wrong with this school?'_

_'Do they not check the teachers' background information?!'_

So wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't hear the rest of what Mme. Mell said, almost didn't hear her approaching the door. Adrien quickly ran before she spotted him and entered an empty classroom. He opened the door a crack and watched as Mme. Mell walked out of the classroom of the woman he used to look up to. Adrien was silent for a while, too stunned to speak and interact with others. His first real-school teacher turned out to be a bully-enabling criminal who changed her name to avoid the consequences of her teaching methods, and now the new teacher has dirt on her. Dirt she can easily take to the police and get justice for the many students _Olympia_ has hurt over the years.

"Kid, are you alright?" Plagg asked. His Chosen going silent scared him a little. He liked when he talked, no matter how annoying or whiney he sounded sometimes. He was used to being around other Kwamis, all talking and laughing together so he craved sound and social interaction.

"... I... Plagg, I can't... It's unbelievable."

Plagg's ears flattened, "You mean your teacher?"

He nods, "She's a criminal, Plagg. She caused the death of a student and Marinette could have been next." He sat down on his bed and hung his head, "If she had followed the high road, she'd just... Suffer in silence, let Lila and the others do whatever they wanted to her." With a sigh, he lied back, "At least Chloé and Nathaniel are on her side."

"And that fiery new substitute of yours," Plagg mentioned with a smirk. "I like her. She knows how to lay down the law."

Adrien smiled, "Yeah. If The Primaries don't expose Lila, maybe she will... I just wish I could have been there for Marinette," he said sadly. Plagg flew over to him and flew in front of his face.

"Kid, you aren't the first of my cats to do something dumb," Adrien rolled his eyes, "I'm serious. We all make mistakes. You didn't know pigtails was being harassed by her classmates, or that her teacher was really a criminal, right?" Adrien shook his head, "Exactly. You didn't know, and that's okay. Now you'll learn from your mistakes, and you can back pigtails up when sausage-hair tries making her look bad."

"When did you get so wise?" Adrien asked with a smirk, making Plagg groan with annoyance before quickly flying into his cheese cabinet to escape the conversation. Adrien let out a laugh before abruptly stopping when he heard someone knocking on his door. "Yes?" He answered, and in stepped Nathalie, face buried in her tablet, as usual, planning his and his father's schedule. "Adrien, you have a visitor."

With a quirked eyebrow, he asked, "Who is it?"

_'Don't be Lila. Don't be Lila. Don't be Lila.'_

Stepping to the side from behind his assistant and now walking into his room was Nathaniel, much to Adrien's shock. How did he manage to get Gabriel to let him in the mansion? And what was he doing here? He and Adrien don't talk, interact, or even glance at each other from across a room. The only time they really interacted was when he became Evillustrator and had to fight him off as Chat Noir. And every time Adrien tried to start a conversation, Nathaniel would give monosyllabic answers or just ignore him until he left. Before Adrien could speak, Nathalie was already walking out, "I'll leave you to it." And the door slammed shut.

The tension was so thick. Adrien didn't know _what_ to say. He could probably talk about art and comics before this whole Primary thing, but it didn't look like Nathaniel wanted to talk about art right now.

"Let's talk," he finally said.


	9. The Snitch

"There is no way in hell I am talking to him," Marinette snarled as she furiously drew in her new sketchbook. After the incident, Marinette made a new sketchbook, one to go with her Primary self. Nathaniel gave her one of the dozens of sketchbooks he owns but hasn't drawn in yet, she made a royal blue leather cover and decorated it with black rhinestones that spelled out 'MDC' in cursive. Right now, she was re-creating Jagged's award show outfit and from memory.

"He's just gonna bitch and moan about taking the high road and kissing Rossi's ass."

The Primaries and Marc sat in Marinette's room, going over the next stage of their plan to expose Lila if or when the class doesn’t figure it out by the end of their month. They had to get Adrien to join them, but not as an official Primary decked out in his own blazer and bejeweled crown pin. He was going to be their snitch. Every year, The Primaries got a new snitch, someone who does their dirty work and gathers information on their targets. Most of the secrets Nathaniel knows about the students come from the snitch. They got new ones to erase their tracks in case anyone outside the group knew who their snitch was. Adrien seemed like an odd choice, considering his high road method, but no matter how much Marinette hates it, he's their best option. Someone else from the target class is a big no for obvious reasons. And the other students won't work since they're so vocal about their distaste for the target class, so they'll suspect one of them of being the snitch.

Adrien has proven himself to be a coward who can't say no. He bends over backward for those with some sort of power over him: Chloé, when the Primaries disbanded and she played the role of his only friend, and Lila, who has creepy ties with his father. What forty-year-old man calls a fourteen-year-old their muse? They know that Adrien knows Lila is a liar, and they'll gladly spread that around if he doesn't comply. While the target class won't do anything since they're kissing the ground Lila walks on, the other students will make his life hell. They will call him a weak, spineless nobody. Word will get out to more Agreste fans, many of whom hate Lila with a passion, and the brand will fry. So he had no choice but to be their snitch. It's either that or see _Gabriel_ get dragged through the mud.

"You also need to call Jagged and get the numbers for his lawyers," Chloé reminded her. Since Lila destroyed something that Jagged had commissioned, Marinette was within her rights to sue her and her classmates for harassment. Same with Nathaniel for destruction of property.

"And Gabriel won't let me in the mansion," Chloé rolled her eyes. "Not after I started that Twitter online campaign to have him fire Lila. It got five-thousand retweets and eight-thousand likes but that fashion disaster still won’t fire that bitch.

"That was _you_?" Marc asked as he and Nathaniel looked up from his journal. Off her nod, he pressed his lips together in thought before nodding. "Actually, I'm not surprised. And he probably kept tabs on the people who agreed with the post, so that leaves me out because I spread that post everywhere."

"Nath, then that leaves you," Marinette told him, much to the redhead's disappointment. "I know, I know. It's like talking to a damn brick wall, but just try.” It was worse than talking to a brick wall in Marinette’s opinion. You can slam the person you don’t like into the wall over and over until they stop screaming, but do it with Adrien? He’ll just coddle them and tell you you’re wrong for trying to hurt the person you hate with every fiber of your being.

”Mari, are you sure you can’t do it?” he asked, not wanting to deal with Adrien giving the whole ‘high road’ spiel to him.

”Nath, believe me, I have _tried_.” She sets down her pencil and turns to face the redhead. “He will not listen. The only thing he’s done is show concern when Lila pulls some shit, or look disappointed when I rant about them and then he’ll tell me to be the bigger person.” She smirks, “A few jabs at him from you will shut him up and make him do anything to get you to stop.”

Nathaniel thought about it for a moment before nodding. Like Chloé, he also knows people’s flaws and weak points. But while she used those to threaten their targets into compliance, he just left them to solemnly reflect on how messed up they truly are and then come crawling to him on their knees, begging for forgiveness. When he made one of their targets, a very well-built jock cry, that earned him the title of ‘The sassy Primary’ and he took great pride in it.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Nathaniel said as he kissed Marc before getting up off the chaise lounge and straightening his red leather jacket with a patch sewn on the chest. It was black and in the shape of a shield with a gold border, and in it was a red lion with an ax. He pulled out his phone and began walking to the floor hatch as he texted someone. He walked past Marinette who was still re-designing Jagged’s outfit and pointed to the sleeves of a jacket, “The jacket cuffs were gold.” After Marinette texted him and Chloé the picture of her torn sketchbook, the page with Jagged's outfit could be seen. He remembered a few details.

With a smile, Marinette labels that part, “Thanks, Nath.”

Chloé mock saluted him, “Godspeed, Kurtzberg.”

Nathaniel returned the gesture before making his way out of Marinette's room.

—

“Nathan, where are you off to?” Sabine asked as Nathaniel walked out of the door leading from the bakery to the apartment while she bagged a customer’s order.

He looked up from his phone and smiled at the Chinese woman, “Going to wear down someone's self-esteem until they beg for mercy and then do as I say in their moment of weakness," he answered, shocking and confusing many of the customers. Sabine just smiled as she handed the very disturbed customer his bag. She knew all about the methods the Primaries used and just treated them like they were five-year-olds having a play date. As long as Marinette got rid of that Liar, she didn't care what her daughter and her friends did. No one gets her daughter expelled and treated like a pariah and gets away with it. "Good luck, dear." A few customers backed away from Nathaniel as he walked by and out the door.

The next customer, a woman with brown hair in a bob cautiously approached the counter while stealing glances at Nathaniel, who was standing outside the bakery. She asked Sabine, "You're not concerned?"

Sabine just shrugged, "Hey, better their targets than you or me. Hell hath no fury like a Primary scorned, dear."

__

Nathaniel stood outside the bakery for about three minutes until the driver who dropped off The Primaries at school drove up to him, this time in a blood-red sports car with shiny black hubcaps and a license plate that read, 'RED PRNC'. The black car is for the Primaries to get to and from school while the red is strictly for Nathaniel when he's in situations like this. When The Primaries recruit a new snitch to rat out the target and their acquaintances, they usually send Nathaniel to do it, because all three Primaries gathered in one spot is bound to draw in a crowd while one will only cause whispers. "Where to, sir?" The driver asked as Nathaniel got in the back passenger side seat.

"Agreste manor."

The two shared matching sinister smirks as the driver looked at him in the rearview mirror, "New snitch?" He puts the car in to drive as Nathaniel nodded. "How do you intend to get to him? Gabriel won't just let anyone in the manor, you know."

"... Zeyde won't mind a little name-dropping, would he?" Nathaniel asked innocently, making the driver let out a chuckle, "I won't tell if you won't kid." He pretended to zip his lips shut and continued driving as Nathaniel looked out the window in thought. If you’re in the right spot, mentioning his family's name opened a lot of doors. Not the name Kurtzberg. Schneid. Nathaniel's maternal grandfather, Nicholas Schneid is a ruthless man who was feared by many back in his home country. He had eyes and ears all over the town and no one knew what he looked like, only adding more to that air of mystery. The only people to ever see his face were his wife, children, and most trusted associates. 

What Nicholas did for a living wasn't technically illegal. He and the people working for him were simply doing the police's job, but quicker, and got paid _way_ more by the other crime families who hated Nicholas’ enemies just as much as he did. Nicholas had an army of hackers on his side who could leak secrets to the authorities, and prior to that, he had messengers who would send physical files to the police. They specifically ordered the police to keep everything private so nothing would be traced back to the Schneids, but word always manages to get out somehow and the next thing you know, you have fifteen crime lords out to try and kill your family, so having children was not the best option for Nicholas and his wife, Christine.

Christine warned Nicholas about the dangers of having their own kids. Their resemblance to him could lead to them being kidnapped and held for ransom or worse. So, after some discussion, they decided to find a surrogate, someone with strong genes so no one would recognize the children as Nicholas'. It took months, but they eventually found a woman from a family where red hair and bluish-green eyes were dominant traits. Nine months later, and triplets with red hair and turquoise eyes were born. Their surnames were changed to Christine's maiden name, Mell, and they lived life normally. For the past eighteen years, Nicholas had tried coaxing the triplets into taking over the business when the time came, but none of them were interested and just wanted to continue living normal lives. He decided to respect their wishes and left the subject alone.

No one associated the triplets with the name, Schneid. They lived well and had high paying jobs thanks to some convincing from some of Nicholas' associates, but they made it clear to him that they wanted to rise up the ranks through hard work and not by using threats. But occasionally, they used what their father did to their advantage.

Lance Mell, the youngest child who lived in New York and worked as a Broadway actor, exposed an anti-Semite group who planned to bomb a local Synagogue. As far as the hate group knows, the police were just good detectives and it was definitely not the work of someone who overheard them in the employee bathroom as he and his fellow cast members were going out for a celebratory dinner after performing Kinky Boots.

Laney Mell, the middle child had the hackers she and her siblings treated like family dig up dirt on suspicious teachers and... Disturbing students at the schools she taught at. So far, she's gotten forty-six teachers arrested, twenty-eight students put in juvenile hall, and there were no clues leading back to her.

Aya Kurtzberg, Nicholas's eldest child managed a successful cafe where two of the waiters were actually bodyguards tasked with keeping Nathaniel safe seeing as he was Nicholas’ only grandchild he hoped would someday take over the family business. When Nathaniel told him about The Primaires, that only got the old man more excited.

_‘Why stop at bratty students and lousy teachers? You and your friends could expose corrupt politicians, kid! And you can make money off of it!’_

He bought the black car for The Primaires to use.

_’Drive around in style. Let people know you’re the bosses.’_

And for Nathaniel’s fourteenth birthday, he bought him the red car he’s in right now.

_’One for show, the other to show you mean business. When you’re in that car, let people know you could easily snap their necks if you wanted to.’_

“We’re here, Nathan,” the driver said, snapping Nathaniel out of his daze. Yes, they had arrived at the Agreste mansion. Driving here was the easy part, now time for the hard part. Getting in.

—  
Nathalie Sancoeur sat at her desk, going over Adrien’s tight schedule and the business’ sales from the past month... They could be a little better. A new collection might boost sales. Ladybug and Chat Noir were certainly popular, but Gabriel would never make a collection dedicated to his sworn enemies, and a collection based on the Akumas would definitely repel the buyers who were akumatized, and many of them were quite powerful people who could influence others. She would come back to that later and instead made sure Adrien's schedule for this month was up to date. He had a photoshoot with that Rossi girl next month. Nathalie knew that girl was evil incarnate and she hated her with every bone in her body, but she was Hawkmoth's best ally, next to her.

She swallowed back every name she would love to call that demon child and just let everything slide, even the constant sexual harassment. Nathalie was not stupid, she knew harassment when she saw it. Unfortunately, she couldn't do much about it. The sausage-haired girl was cunning and no one knew much about Gabriel's private life. If he fired her, she could spin things around and make Adrien or Gabriel seem like they were harassing her. She's gone through eight stress balls and five fidget cubes whenever she was near that girl, spewing nothing but damn lies. How those classmates of hers haven't figured it out just baffled her. Of course, there was Marinette, who knew she was lying the second she walked into that school.

She didn't know how Lila was able to convince Gabriel that Marinette was the problem. In Nathalie's opinion, she seemed like a sweet girl who cared deeply for Adrien. She did not buy that story about the book. The girl obviously didn't want the person who did steal it to get in trouble. She took the blame just so Adrien could get back into school. Now thanks to Rossi, Gabriel sees her as nothing but a horrible influence on Adrien. It made her sick sometimes. She knew it was important for Gabriel to get Emille back, but hurting an innocent girl to do it? Nathalie still had some morals.

Rousing the assistant out of her thoughts was a 'PING', sound. Someone was outside. Nathalie turned her chair around and was now facing a large monitor hanging on the wall. She picked up a remote and flipped through different images on the screen that showed different rooms in the mansion until the image showed Nathaniel's driver standing in front of the camera. With a raised eyebrow, she pressed another button on the remote, activating a microphone. "Can I help you?" she asked, not liking the looks of this man.

He replied firmly, "My passenger must speak with Adrien." Before Nathalie could say more, he continued, "Nathaniel Kurtzberg. Red hair. They're in the same classes."

 _'Kurtzberg,'_ Nathalie thought to herself. She made her way back to her desk and opened up a filing cabinet, filled with files organized by Akumas' names. _'Despair Bear, Darkblade, Dark Cupid, Dark Owl, Evillustrator.'_ She pulled out the file and opened it, revealing a photo and analysis of the boy this man was describing.

**Name: Nathaniel Quinlan Kurtzberg**

**Birthday: October 26, 2004**

**Skills: Sketching, Painting, Digital art**

**Occupation: Student, Illustrator**

**Akuma: Evillustrator**

**Relation to Adrien: Classmate**

Nathalie always got a weird feeling from this boy, but she never knew why. And according to his file, he and Adrien weren't friends, so why would he be here to see him? She spoke back into the mic, "Might I ask why he needs to speak to Adrien?"

He looked off to the side before answering, "I can't say."

Nathalie frowned at the answer then ordered, "Let me see him."

With a nod, the driver made his way back to the car and opened the door, letting Nathaniel out. His appearance astounded Nathalie. Gabriel detested a few of Adrien's classmates' fashion choices. Princess Fragrance wore way too much pink that it hurt his eyes, Gamer's suspenders were way out of style, and Gabriel would not be caught dead wearing flannel, especially with sneakers like Lady WiFi. But Evillustrator- Nathaniel's outfit made Gabriel want to bleach his eyes. Orange and purple? If he could, he would ban that boy's outfit from being seen by the public eye. But this new outfit would probably change Gabriel's opinion about the boy. He was wearing a red crop leather jacket with a bejeweled black crown lapel pin on the collar over a black v-neck shirt, a studded silver belt holding up a pair of black skinny jeans, and red converse.

Nathalie noticed something on the jacket, a patch that looked very familiar to her, but she didn't know why. All she remembered was that the symbol was important somehow. It commanded more respect than the Tsurigi family crest. Apprehensively, she said, "He can come in." She made her way back towards her desk, not breaking eye contact with the screen, and felt around for her tablet. Once in her hands, she tapped a lock icon on the screen, opening the gates.

_"What have I just done?"_

"Nathalie, who is this boy?" Gabriel whispered to his assistant as Nathaniel entered the mansion.

Nathalie whispered back, "He's one of Adrien's classmates, sir. Nathaniel Kurtzberg..." She added, "Evillustrator." Gabriel can't remember the names of the people he's akumatized, so he uses their Akuma names, but never out loud. Nathalie always has to whisper their real names to him. "His driver wouldn't say."

Gabriel thought to himself as he mentally critiqued Nathaniel's outfit, _'Quite an improvement from those... Purple jeans, and- How can a middle-class citizen afford such a jacket? It's an original Gwendolyn... Probably inheritance. And he has the nerve to defile such a well-crafted jacket with a ridiculous patch?'_

"Sir, I know what you're thinking, and stop it," Nathalie hissed. "The patch on his jacket; I've seen it before, once. It commands respect from what I remember." She looked at Nathaniel, who was standing in the foyer and eyeing the decor with visible distastefulness. Gabriel noticed this, and Nathalie stopped him before he could say anything by placing her hand on his shoulder. "Sir. I suggest you stay on his good side until I figure out where I've seen that patch. Okay?"

The man sighed with defeat and turned to the boy waiting patiently. "Monsieur Kurtzberg," the redhead looked to him with a raised eyebrow that had Gabriel frown. _'The nerve of this boy.'_ "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Oh, I'm just here to visit Adrien," he answered. "We have something to discuss."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow, "That couldn't be said over the phone?"

"No. It needed to be said in person."

The two size each other up. Gabriel knew this boy. The shy, quiet type. Trying to appear bolder by dressing in much more fashionable clothes? It wouldn't work. He's worked in the fashion industry to know how timid people much like Nathaniel wear clothes like his to make people believe that they're in charge. He'll probably be running out of here any second.  
Nathaniel could easily tell what this man was thinking. _'You come into my mansion and try to show me up dressing much more fashionable than me?'_ Well, anyone looks better than a man dressed like a fucking candy cane. But in all seriousness, this man was just waiting for him to screw up so he could kick him out.

"Well then," Gabriel turned to Nathalie, "Nathalie, please escort Nathaniel to Adrien's room."

Nathalie tensed a bit at the order. She did not want to be alone with that boy. But, going against her instincts and instead, obeying her boss, she responded, "Yes sir." She beckoned for Nathaniel to approach, and the redhead made his way up the stairs. Once at the top where the two adults were waiting, he and Gabriel eyed each other for a moment before he followed Nathalie to Adrien's room.

The walk to Adrien's room was excruciating for Nathalie. How can a teenage boy seem so intimidating? And where has she seen that patch? To avoid any eye contact and a possible conversation with the boy walking next to her, she stared down at her tablet, pretending to look busy with Adrien's schedule when really she was thinking about that patch.

Nathalie knows that she's seen it before she started working for Gabriel, and worked her previous boss, Ricardo Dillinger, a ruthless and cheap businessman... Clearly, she had a type. He was a cellphone mogul who used only the cheapest materials to make his pricey phones that would either fall apart or electrocute customers. His entire company was under his thumb, and they never dared to go behind his back and expose him. One man who tried was forced to move out of the country.  
And when the customers would complain about the phones, he'd pin the blame on the manufacturers, saying they went behind his back just so they could make a quick buck, and people fell for it. He had a face that everyone loved and trusted so no one saw him as the bad guy. He was like a richer, more well-dressed version of Rossi. Ricardo sued each and every one of the manufacturers he blamed and had a pile of fake evidence to use against them all. He was untouchable.

Karma finally caught up to him when the authorities busted him at the loading dock where he picked up the cheap materials he used for his phones. It baffled Nathalie. No one's been able to catch her boss; he left no tracks. It was honestly a relief to be away from such a horrible man... Now she's working for a supervillain trying to resurrect his wife.

Finally, much to Nathalie's relief, they arrived at Adrien's room. She cast Nathaniel one last glance before knocking on the door. From the other side, they heard Adrien answer, "Yes?" At that, she opened the door and stepped into the model's room while Nathaniel stood outside. While still looking down at her tablet, she spoke, "Adrien, you have a visitor."

"Who is it?" the blonde asked. Nathalie looked up for a second and saw the nervous look on his face. _'You and me both, Adrien.'_ She stepped to the side, allowing Nathaniel to enter the room. She saw the nervous look on Adrien's face morph into shock. It made sense. Nathaniel's never been to the mansion, except for those times when Adrien's friends threw that out of control party, Bubbler, and Party Crasher, but that was a large group of people while this was just the two of them. She quickly left the room, "I'll leave you to it." She shut the door behind her.

"... So," Adrien let out a nervous chuckle to try and ease some of the tension. It didn't work. "What did you wanna talk about, Nath?"

Nathaniel smiled, but it wasn't easing Adrien's worries, especially when Nathaniel grabbed him by the front of his shirt, startling the blonde. From the corner of his eye, he could see Plagg poking his head out from his cheese cabinet and narrowing his eyes at the redhead. He pulled Adrien in close and whispered, "Only my friends call me 'Nath', Agreste. Got it?" He quickly nodded. "Good." He let go of Adrien's shirt, much to his relief. "So... How are things?"

 _'You grabbed me by the front of his shirt and now you're asking me this?!'_ "... F-fine."

"Really? Everything's going great for you?"

"Y-yeah," Adrien nodded, not understanding what Nathaniel was getting at. "I mean... Things have been a little tense ever since-"

"Ever since Mari, Chloe, and I started putting those idiots in their place?" he sneered. Adrien frowned at that. His friends were just trying to be nice to- No. No, he won't defend them anymore. "I've been wondering, how has this affected you, Agreste? You're probably so used to satire and fluff, aren't you?"

"... What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, slightly offended.

Nathaniel shrugged and started walking around the room, "I mean, you've been sheltered your whole life, never get to experience the cruelness of the world." He looked back to Adrien and saw the downcast look on his face. _'Good.'_ "Yeah, but I'm sure Lila helped out with that, right? She told nice little stories about her wonderful life, made people happy."

_'Oh...'_

"Yeah, she's like a drug, isn't she?" he smirked. "Always filling your heads with bliss and nothing but sweet thoughts."

Adrien sighed, "So that's why you're here."

"Yeah," Nathaniel replied as he turned back to Adrien with a serious expression. "That's right. Mari and Chloé told me everything. How you know that Lila's lying, how you told Mari to stay quiet and endure the shit those assholes have put her through." Before Adrien could speak, he continued, "God, you make me sick. You really think your fucked up 'high road' method actually works? You're basically telling Marinette to stay quiet about her bully, to go along with whatever she says. I assume that includes the lies Rossi has been telling about her?" Seeing Adrien look down in shame, he frowns and approaches him. He snaps his fingers so the blonde is forced to look at him. "Eyes up here, blondie. Where'd you even get that dumb idea, anyway?"

Adrien stammered for a response, "I-I, my-"

"You-you, your," Nathaniel mocked. "Out with it, Agreste!"

"My father!" He exclaimed, startling Nathaniel. "Wh-whenever I'm dealing with a difficult celebrity. and the paparazzi is watching, he-he always told me to not start a fight and just go along with whatever they say and keep them happy." Nathaniel almost felt sorry for him when he heard that, but he remembered why he was here and kept a straight face. "A-and it worked. So I thought it would work for Mari, too-"

"You have lost the right to use that nickname," he growled, making Adrien look down again. "God, and I hate how you do this." Adrien furrowed his brown in confusion, "You always shy away and put on this little 'sad boy' act whenever someone gets a little mad at you. Don't think I don't notice. Back when Chloé was the school bully and threatened to leave Paris, I saw you acting all pathetic when Mari exclaimed how happy she was that your only best friend- who I might add tormented us, and also add, pretended to be a total bitch- was leaving. I thought to myself, _'Wow, is that horse high enough for ya?'_

"But I-"

"Always need to be the one in the right? The self-righteous dick who's above everyone else and can do absolutely no wrong?" He placed his hand on Adrien's shoulder and gives it a squeeze, making the blonde wince, "Lemme tell you something Agreste. I don't care if these are your's or your dad's methods, but they're fucked up. They help no one, and people feel guilty for supporting whatever you say is wrong. Face it, you are just as manipulative as Lila."

Adrien recoiled in shock before he shot up from his bed and stood at full height to show that he was not intimidated by Nathaniel. (He is), "I am not! Okay?! I-I get it! Lila is not a good person!"

Nathaniel laughed, "Wh-what even gave you the impression that she ever was?"

"I thought she was looking for friends!" Adrien shouted, defensively. "I didn't know her lies would go so far!"

Nathaniel groaned in frustration, "Oh my God! Lies will always go too far! Like, for example, when Rossi got Mari expelled! You knew she was lying, so why didn't you help Mari?!"

"I made Lila get her back in!"

Nathaniel's eyes widened, shocked. He didn't know Adrien did that. It still didn't excuse how he didn't defend Marinette before, but Nathaniel decided to hear him out.

"Yeah," he nodded. "And in exchange, she gets to model with me." He sat back down on his bed. "I'm sorry I didn't do much, but I still thought that if Mari- Marinette," he corrected himself, "left Lila alone, then she'd just... Lie herself into a corner and everyone would know the truth."

Nathaniel sat down next to him. It's silent and they don't do anything for a while until Nathaniel cupped Adrien's face in his hands before turning his face towards him. "Look. I still think you're a total dick. And so does Mari." Adrien sighed when he heard that. "And that little 'sad boy' routine has to stop. You need to see things from other people's perspectives. But... You can redeem yourself. I can't guarantee that Mari will forgive you but it's a start."

"What do I have to do?"

"First, let me ask you something." He narrowed his eyes, "How much do you _hate_ Lila? And not just her. Modeling with her, being forced to play nice with her. How much do you hate it all?"

'Hate' was never a word Adrien would use. He always tried to see the good in people... Look where that landed him. Now with Lila? He just loathed and despised her, but he still wouldn't use 'hate' to describe how he felt about her. He wanted her gone, he never wanted to see her again, and he wanted every magazine with her picture or name burned. Sometimes he even fantasized about an Akuma just bursting into the classroom and beating her until- Maybe he did hate her.

He gave his honest answer, "With every fiber of my being."

Nathaniel smiled, "I know you wanna say more, but that's a start. Now, to help us out, you're going to pretend that Lila isn't a liar." He resisted the urge to add, 'Like you've been doing this whole time.' "Stay with her little cult at all times. And report back to The Primaries anything she says about trying to ruin our lives or some bullshit."

Adrien furrowed his brow, "So, I'm like a mole or something?"

Nathaniel hummed in thought, "We prefer the term, 'Snitch'. Now, you can't tell anyone about this, not a soul. Not even after we expose Rossi."

 _'Piece of cake. I've kept my identity a secret for almost a year.'_ "Got it."

"But there's a catch."

_'Uh oh.'_

"You'll still endure the same treatment as the rest of the class; no special treatment. And when we expose Lila, she might tell everyone that you knew she was lying. We can't protect you from our class when she outs you. Are you still in?" He held his hand out for Adrien to shake.

There was no way for Adrien to get out unscathed. If he didn't accept Nathaniel's offer, The Primaries will just expose Lila without him, Marinette won't forgive him, and when Lila's exposed, she'll probably tell everyone he knew she wasn't telling the truth. If he did become their snitch, they can expose Lila together, Marinette still probably won't forgive him but will just tolerate him a little bit, and when Lila's exposed, she'll tell everyone he knew about her lies... Being their snitch sounded like his best option.

"... You have a deal." Adrien took Nathaniel's hand and shook it. Immediately, he felt a chill go down his spine.

"Good choice," Nathaniel commended. "Remember. Tell no one outside The Primaries. Go along with whatever the class says. Keep any secrets from us, and you're finished." He leans in close and whispers into Adrien's ear, "Everyone will know you let Lila live her little fantasy life. Got it?"

Adrien gulped, "Crystal."

"Good." He gives Adrien a pat on the back as he makes his way to the door. "Come to Marinette's place tomorrow a 2:00... Or else," he added before walking out of the room, leaving Adrien stunned.

Plagg flew out of the cabinet, "Kid, are you okay? That was intense."

"... I think I just made a deal with the devil."

**The Primaries** ❤️💛💙 **(Plus 🌈)**

 **Nathaniel:  
** **He's in.**

**Chloé:  
Are you serious?**

**Marc:  
Mari stopped working.**

**Nathaniel:  
Yes, yes, you can all thank me later.**

**Chloé:  
Didn't intend to thank you, Kurtzberg. 😒**

**Nathaniel:  
But you want to.**

**Marc:  
Anyway, Mari and Chloé called Jagged and got the lawyers' numbers. They said you're well within your rights to sue the class for destruction of property and harassment.**

**Chloé:  
And Jagged, Clara, and a bunch of other celebrities Rossi lied about can sue for defamation. Remember those screenshots I took of the Ladyblog before the site got hacked? Evidence!**

**Marinette:  
Hey, I'm back. I just sorta zoned out for a bit. Nath, did you really get Adrien on our side?  
**

**Nathaniel:  
I couldn't believe it either, Mari.**

**Marinette:  
I still think he's a dick.**

**Marc:  
We know, honey.** ****

**Nathaniel:  
Don't worry, I gave it to him straight.**

****Chloé:  
You mean "gay"? 😏** **

****Nathaniel:  
Fuck you, I'm bi.** **

****Chloé:  
You love me.** **

****Nathaniel:  
Yes, but I love my Rainbow more.** ** ****

****Marc:  
🥰** **

****Marinette:  
You guys are giving me cavities. I'm out. ** ** **💙**

**Chloé:  
GAAAAAY!💛**

**Nathaniel:  
You.❤️**

**Marc:  
I love this group chat 🌈**


	10. Revenge Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter is a little short, but it's still a good read. Next chapter, we're gonna see the Snitch in action.
> 
> And yes, the title and chapter is based on Mean Girls, the movie and musical

Adrien sometimes watches nature documentaries. He didn't want to, but Plagg insisted on him "Seeing his cousins in the wild." "Cousins" meaning jungle cats. He watched those three hungry lions circle around that poor wounded gazelle before one finally makes a move and pounces on it before tearing it limb from limb. The second would ward off the scavengers looking to take what they can get and then join the third in eating what the first lion left... Right now, he's the gazelle, and the Primaries are the lions.

Marinette was the first lion, ready to pounce on him at any moment if he made a wrong move. He tried not to flinch whenever she looked his way, but it was so hard not to. Her steely gaze was terrifying. She somehow managed to make blue eyes seem evil. When he walked into her home, he felt a chill go down his back. It was unsettling. He knew that Marinette wasn't too happy with him right now, but he hoped they could at least have a civil conversation. But every time he tried to talk, he'd immediately shut his mouth. He didn't know why he was so scared, it was Marinette: Their Everyday Lady- No! He has to remember what happened at school. She is a regular person, not an example, or any of that. She can get Akumatized, too, just like everyone else. It's not her job to make people happy.

He's been repeating that to himself ever since Nathaniel came over yesterday and persuaded, or rather threatened him into joining the Primaries. He wasn't an official member, just some disposable ally they could throw under the bus when things go awry. One slip up and his school life will be a living nightmare. The only people he'll have are his classmates, and he wasn't exactly too fond of them right now, not when he learned what they've been doing to Marinette, Chloé, and Nathaniel.

But, threats of being a social pariah aside, their conversation helped to open Adrien's eyes a little more. Looking back, he did occasionally put on a "sad boy" routine. He didn't even realize he was doing it. Did it just come naturally to him? That's even worse; it means he's been playing with his friends' feelings this whole time! Well, this is his chance to right his wrongs. Yes, his classmates may not forgive him when they realize he's known Lila's been lying since she got here, but being the Primaries' snitch is a good way to start redeeming himself. He'll help expose Lila, and everything will be right again.

This could go a lot quicker if Chloé just finished writing whatever she was writing on the whiteboard. She was clearly taking her sweet time just to mess with Adrien. She's erased five words so far, and Chloé _never_ makes spelling errors. When they were kids, she would always show off how well she could spell large words. Andre commended her skills while Audrey said it was 'So-so', which was about one of the nicest things she's ever said about her daughter.

“Alright,” Chloé finally said and turned towards the group.,“Here’s what we know. Lila Rossi is a cunning, devious fox who uses sweet words and promises to take what she wants.”

Marinette nods, “And according to her, she tells people what they want to hear.”

”Right,” Chloé said before stepping to the side, revealing what she had written down on the whiteboard.

Taped on the left side was a headshot of Lila with devil horns and a goatee drawn on, with an arrow pointing to her with the word ‘Evil dictator’ written on the line. To the other side written at the top in red was the word _'Resources,'_ and under it were the words _‘Army of followers,’_ _‘Spineless teachers,’ ‘Media platform,’_ _'Attention fuel,'_ and _‘Silver tongue’_.

”Lila is nothing like our other targets. We’ve face cheaters, sexual harassers, charity thieves, hackers who change their grades. Etcétera, etcétera,” Chloé drawled. “Lila is all of these things. Except for the hacker,” she added. “She’s like a conniving dictator with bad hair. And every dictator has resources that make them powerful. But, if we take them away, she’ll be vulnerable and then we’ll go in for the big kill.”

 _‘What is the big kill?’_ Adrien wondered to himself.

”Right now, she’s down an enabler,” Chloé points to _‘Spinless teachers.’_ “Mme. Bustier, or, Louquerre allows Lila and her followers to do as they please in class. Now that she’s out,” Adrien tensed at the mention of his former teacher. The fact that he's been being taught by a criminal this entire time made him wonder what else was going on in that school. “Lila can’t take over the class, whine about injuries and doctors notes then expect to gain special treatment, or try to get us in trouble. She can only bitch and moan during lunch because the other teachers actually have brains and will definitely call her out in their classes. _But_ if she lies about her injuries during lunch hours, then the other students will most likely point out some massive red flags. That will only allow her to lie during the weekends or when no one else is around to call her out.”

Adrien was amazed. He never Chloé was so logical. He still wondered what they did to Olympia, though. Hopefully, nothing that’ll get them arrested. And with her gone, who’d be their new teacher?

"Now that we've gotten rid of her media platform," she slaps a picture of the LadyBlog logo on the board, startling Adrien.

 _'They_ got rid of the LadyBlog?' Adrien thought to himself in bewilderment. When Nino told him about it, Adrien didn't believe it at first and thought it was just some sort of joke. That was Alya's life, she'd never part with her blog. But it seemed like it was for the best. Without the LadyBlog, Alya can't go running after Akuma and put herself in danger or try to expose his and Ladybug's identities. Plus, it was mainly dedicated to Lila, 'Ladybug's BFF.' But, the LadyBlog had evidence of Lila's lies about celebrities. Marinette could show it to Jagged Stone and Clara. So why did they get rid of it all?

"That leaves her with her cult, fueling her ego and being her little attack dogs, her job as a Gabriel Model, gaining her more attention and special treatment from the class to protect her _precious little model face_ , the many many not-so-creative lies she can use to get whatever she wants, and one more enabler. Damocles.” She sneered before slapping a picture of the principal on the board. She then looks to Adrien and smirks, “And that’s where our snitch comes in.”

Adrien sank into his chair and tried to avoid all three sets of blue eyes on him. He ran his hand through his hair, hoping that would relieve some of the tension and calm him down, but their eyes were still on him like they were expecting something. Did he need to say something? Do something? He's still new to all of this.

”Alright, knock it off, guys,” Marinette said, her gaze becoming gentler. “It looks like he’s about to pass out.”

 _‘Was I?’_ Adrien wondered to himself. _‘How long was that? Am I sweating right now?’_ He pretends to move his hair off of his forehead, but really, he’s wiping the sweat off.

Chloé rolled her eyes and continued, “As we all know, Damocles caters to the rich and powerful. Example. Me,” she points to herself. “Damocles is greedy, power-hungry, and willing to punish any middle or lower class students if it means having close ties with the elite students and their parents. During my time as a total bitch, he catered to my whims and got close to my father. He funded the school handsomely, but it makes you wonder where the money is going. There are no locks for the lockers or security cameras,” Marinette nods along, remembering her unjust expulsion. “And then there’s our fundraisers. Last year, the school all together raised $2,273,946.”

Adrien gaped. It made sense, there were a lot of talented and hard-working students at that school.

”It was to make renovations to the school, but the only things that the money got spent on were a new trophy case, new sports equipment, for the boys' teams I might add, and Damocles’ Owl crap. Somehow, he’s managed to fund his superhero lifestyle using our hard-earned money and not get caught by the school board. I made a couple of calls and found out that Jean's cousin, who used to be a student, emailed the school board to complain about there being no locks on the lockers, but either never received a response, or did, but they dismissed his claims."

'... He wouldn't.'

"There is a good chance that all emails sent to the school board were actually being sent to Damocles," Chloé concluded. "It seems a little farfetched, but-"

"No, that sounds about right," Nathaniel said.

Marinette nodded, "Yeah, I remember sending a few emails to the school board about why the sewing club still had sewing machines from the eighties. When I finally got a response, they gave the same response as Damocles when I complained to him. Something about needing to support more substantial school activities. I sent another email about getting someone to investigate my expulsion but I got a response telling me to give Lila a chance and to not berate her for something she couldn't control."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, "Fuckin' bullshit."

”Adrien.” At his name, he strained his posture and turned to Marinette. “Here’s what you’re going to do for us. You’re going to sneak into Damocles' office during lunch hours. That's when he goes into the teacher's lounge to make his coffee. We've timed him; you've got six minutes to look around and gather any evidence we can take to the school board. There aren't any security cameras, so you won't be caught."

Reluctantly, Adrien nodded. He didn't want to sneak into the principal's office, but M. Damocles needed to be taken out of his position and exposed as a thief and tyrant. "O-okay, but how are you going to contact the school board? Y-you guys don't have any of their emails, do you?"

"Nathaniel's got us covered," Chloé said, pointing to the redhead. "One of his family members has close ties to a member of the board," she smirked. " _Very_ close ties."

Nathaniel playfully flipped her off. Much to Adrien's shock, Chloé actually laughed. She didn't look offended one bit. He never thought he'd see his friend... Could he even call her that anymore? He never thought he'd see Chloé laughing and enjoying herself when it wasn't at the expense of others. And he never thought he'd see the day when she and Marinette got along, and fire didn't rain down from the heavens.

"They're just friends," Nathaniel snarked as Chloé and Marinette continued laughing. "Hey, remember our plan to get rid of that asshole in charge of our school?"

"Yeah, yeah," Chloé dismissed. "Once we have all the evidence we need, we'll take it to Nathaniel's future aunt," she quickly caught a crumpled piece of paper thrown by Nathaniel and tossed it to the side, "she'll get someone on the board to do a surprise inspection of the school, call out Damocles, and bam!" Adrien flinched as she hit her fist against the palm of her hand. "Damocles is arrested for embezzlement, Lila's down an enabler, and she'll get in trouble like every other student for disrupting class."

Adrien had to admit, their plan sounded brilliant. He wasn't too comfortable with sneaking into the Principal's office, but if it meant riding the school of a corrupt staff member, then he supposed it was okay. He's Chat Noir, a defender of justice. He's supposed to do the right thing. Favoritism and embezzlement are crimes... Okay, embezzlement more than favoritism, but favoritism is still wrong.

"Alright," Marinette said, snapping Adrien out of his thoughts. "Nath will text you when it's time to go through Damocles' office. If anyone asks where you are, tell them your dad is Nathalie is checking up on you and it's a private call. Got it?" Off his nod, she smiled at him for the first time since The Primaries return. "Good," she sneered again. "Now get the fuck out of my room, Agreste."

Quickly, after muttering a goodbye, he hurried out of her room. Three seconds after he left, The Primaries broke out into a fit of laughter. "Oh my God!" Nathaniel wheezed. "I thought he was gonna piss himself!"

"The snitches get easier to scare each time," Chloé cackled as she reminisced on their previous snitches. They always picked out people associated with their targets. Specifically, those who are being blackmailed and threatened. They're easy to break down, wanted revenge on the main target, and wouldn't dare to go against the three of them.

* * *

Nathalie sat at her desk, typing away on her laptop, trying to find out where she's seen that crest stitched on Nathaniel's jacket. It seemed obsessive, but she knew there was something about the crest that just seemed dangerous. And if Adrien was hanging out with someone associated with that crest, she needed to make sure the blonde wasn't in danger. So far, the only thing close was the Borden family crest, but it was the wrong color. She went back to the search bar and typed in 'Family crests with lion holding an ax.' A few results came up and she scrolled through them all until one title caught her eye. **'Who is Nicholas Schneid?'** She clicked on the link, and an old grainy photo of the same crest Nathaniel had stitched on his jacket appeared on the screen.

**Author's Note:**

> https://artzychic27.tumblr.com/post/628424815451226112/miraculous-salt-prompts

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Three Aces](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888749) by [ChildOfHecate666](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfHecate666/pseuds/ChildOfHecate666)
  * [Killer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29721084) by [1RoseByAnyOtherName](https://archiveofourown.org/users/1RoseByAnyOtherName/pseuds/1RoseByAnyOtherName)




End file.
